PROFESSIONAL NURSING EXPERIENCE
Nobody is born a professional in their industry - everyone who wants to develop their craft must work hard to do so. I initiated my employment with St. Luke's Hospital in the Patient Accounting and Admitting departments. Read below to see how I worked at earning my nursing degree, and developing myself as a proficient nursing professional (printable version).
FORMAL NURSING EDUCATION
December, 2005
Associate Degree - Professional Nursing
Penn Valley Community College
Kansas City, MO
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April, 2018
Master of Science (MSN) - Nursing Leadership and Management
University of Mary, Bismarck, ND
TRANSPLANTATION COORDINATOR
January, 2015 - present
In this role, I work closely with abdominal transplant surgeons and transplant hepatologists to educate and coordinate care for patients before, during, and after the transplant procedure. Once a transplant referral is received by our program, I am responsible for initiating evaluation education, informed consent, as well as scheduling of all specialist consults and diagnostic testing. At completion of transplant evaluation, I prepare a clinical evaluation summary report and present it at a Selection Committee meeting to a large interdisciplinary team. Once a decision is made regarding transplant eligibility, I am responsible for communicating the decision to the patients, as well as coordinating addition to the wait list, when applicable.
REGISTERED NURSE II
EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT
December, 2005 - January, 2015
As a staff nurse in a high acuity emergency department, I assisted physicians and other members of the emergency services team. My responsibilities included utilizing the nursing process to offer the highest quality of patient care. This included, but was not limited to: comprehensive patient assessment; efficient and effective communication of patient status to all members of the clinical team, both internally and externally; direct patient care as ordered by emergency physicians, including bedside tasks - IV placements, administration of medications and fluids, and phlebotomy tasks as needed; expeditious disposition of patients to inpatient units where applicable; facilitated follow up care for patients upon discharge from the Emergency Department. For the last year of my tenure as a nurse in the emergency room, I was assigned the role of Tier III Float Pool nurse, which allowed me to float to the four highest census/acuity Emergency Departments within the St. Luke's Health system. As an experienced emergency and trauma nurse, I acted as preceptor, charge nurse, and overall mentor to countless nurses and nursing assistants throughout my time in this department.
CHARGE AUDIT NURSE SPECIALIST
2012 - 2014
This role assigned me with the primary task of utilizing my critical thinking skills and nursing judgement to review medical records in patients' electronic medical record (Epic) for services applicable to procedural charging for emergency room visits, inpatient hospital stays, and outpatient infusion and chemotherapy charges. Once reviewed, I was responsible for adding CPT codes for appropriate service charging, as well as following up with all hospital units for follow up after chart reviews. Additionally, I was consistently called upon by the Patient Accounting services unit to assist with complex clinical issues which were impacting patients' billing. I maintained a full time role within this department, while still working a consistent amount of shifts in the Emergency Department (PRN).
LICENSURE AND CERTIFICATION
PROFESSIONAL NURSE, BOARD REGISTERED (RN)
State of Missouri Board of Professional Nursing
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February, 2006
CERTIFIED CLINICAL TRANSPLANT COORDINATOR (CCTC)
American Board for Transplant Certification
February, 2018
BLS CERTIFIED
through July, 2018
ORGANIZATIONAL MEMBERSHIPS & HONORS
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HISPANICÂ NURSES (NAHN)
Founded in 1976, NAHN is an active and vocal advocate for licensed Hispanic nurses, advocating for policy changes and offering unique perspectives related to Hispanic health care needs. NAHN works to identify barriers to implementing and delivering health services to Hispanic consumers and recommends appropriate solutions to local, state and federal agencies. NAHN is also committed to representing in voice and action the number of licensed Hispanic nurses in the United States and promotes the recruitment and retention of Hispanic students in nursing education programs to increase the number of bilingual and bi-cultural nurses to provide culturally sensitive nursing care to Hispanic consumers and communities.
A vital role of NAHN is to serve as a resource center for their members, providing industry model practices and a means for collaboration individually and through all regional chapters to advance the educational, professional and leadership skills of Hispanic nurses and increase the number of Hispanic researchers, administrators and educators.
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Member since 2016
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF LIVER DISEASE (AASLD)
AASLD is an organization for scientists and health care professionals committed to preventing and curing liver disease. The organization fosters research that leads to improved treatment options for patients with liver disease. They also host educational conferences, training programs, professional publications, and partnerships with government agencies and sister societies. AASLD's membership encompasses ALL professionals dedicated to hepatobiliary discoveries and patient care. AASLD's core values include mentoring, the sharing of knowledge, and a dedication to professional growth and development. From complimentary journal subscriptions, to no or reduced registration fees for meetings and educational events, membership in AASLD offers an economical opportunity to learn from, interact with, and remain in contact with leading professionals in the field.
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Member since 2016
SIGMA THETA TAU INTERNATIONAL
Sigma's mission is advancing world health and celebrating nursing excellence in scholarship, leadership, and service. Sigma's vision is to be the global organization of choice for nursing. Members must meet eligibility criteria - baccalaureate and graduate nursing students who demonstrate excellence in scholarship and to nurse leaders exhibiting exceptional achievements in nursing - apply to membership, and be approved by nursing leaders/educators.
Member since 2018
SCHOLARLY & EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES
ST. LUKE'S HOSPITAL ORGAN TRANSPLANT CLASS
Educator
Presenter and educator to staff nurses who provide direct, bedside nursing care to patients before, during, and after transplant. This education encompasses the types of patients who may be adequate transplant candidates, the evaluation process itself, and the transplant specific care necessary during post-operative and recovery periods. These classes take place 1-2 times annually, and consist of approximately 20 staff nurses.
UNIVERSITY OF MARY CAPSTONE TEAM PROJECT
Skin in the Game: Skin Cancer
Prevention Education in Immunosuppressed Transplant Patients
As part of fulling requirements for NUR 696 and
NUR 697, both Seminar and Service Project courses for University of Mary MSN - Nurse Leadership and Management curriculum, I acted as sole presenter at both the curriculum and organizational level for the St. Luke's Hospital Transplant Administrator.
PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE
Graduate School Leadership Experience Hours
Participated in a total of 520 leadership clinical experience hours as part of the
Nursing Leadership and Management curriculum.
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NUR 613 Leadership and the Future of Nursing (Spring, 2017) - 80 hours accompanying Jason Purcell, MSN, RN, NEA-BC during office time, hospital leadership meetings, and other executive partnerships
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NUR 560 Applied Healthcare Economics, Finance, and Budgeting (Spring, 2017) - 20 hours achieved while performing a financial statement analysis through reviewing organizational financial statements and budgets
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NUR 696 Seminar & Service Project (Fall, 2017) - 220 hours earned while initiating a capstone project within a health care organization as one of four project team members. Worked in consultation with Nancy Long, Transplant Administrator as a way of identifying a clinical practice need for transplant patients. Was an integral team member in identifying and analyzing the clinical practice problem, designing project recommendations, helped to identify methods for measuring project outcomes.
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NUR 697 Seminar & Service Project II (Spring, 2018) - 200 hours accomplished by working as a member of a student project team to execute project implementation as initiated in NUR 696. In addition, helped to develop outcome measurement strategies for the clinical project, achieving university Institutional Review Board approval to implement, and subsequently measure and disseminate findings of the clinical project at a university and organizational level.
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VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES
Active in the Community
Outside of her professional work and time spent on continuing her education, Sarah has volunteered her time freely to multiple organizations, several of which are shown below
