Aishia Springer of the Intermediate Float Pool on Tower 14A.
The ability to adapt quickly to unpredictable and unfamiliar situations is a skill shared by each of the 50 ICU Float Pool nurses and the 70 Intermediate Float Pool nurses. These nurses are assigned to units throughout in the Tower based on needs created by a variety of situations including sick calls, temporary leaves of absence and higher than usual acuity.
“These nurses have an extensive knowledge and skill base, and they learn the intricacies of how each unit operates and how each team is different,” said Cathy Rumble, RN, nurse manager of the ICU and Intermediate float pools. “We have a very talented group of professionals. ”
Float Pool nurses complete a comprehensive orientation to ensure competency in the nursing care of patients with a variety of problems and needs. They have sharp assessment and problem solving skills.
“Because they work in so many units, their skill level and knowledge base is exemplary,” said Linda Kraiger, RN, nurse educator of the float pools.
Donna McEachern, RN, who has worked in the ICU Float Pool for seven years, agreed. “I feel comfortable on every unit, and I’ve gained so much knowledge,” she said. “If I’m on a cardiac floor, for example, and I see a neurological change in a patient, I might be more attuned to it because I cared for a patient in the Neuro ICU the day before.”
Flexibility is a hallmark of the nurses who work in the Float Pool, it’s especially evident when patient care needs neccessitate a change in assignment. For example, it would not be unusual for McEachern to care for a lung transplant patient with pneumonia in the MICU and then, later in the shift, care for a hypotensive septic patient in the ED. Nurses find out their assignment at the time they report for their shift.
“The challenges are also the opportunities,” Rumble said. While there is no substitute for knowing a particular patient, float nurses like the challenge of the accelerated pace and working on different units and with different teams. Through this role, they have built collegial relationships throughout the Tower.
Consuelo Halloran, RN, joined the Intermediate Float Pool one year ago after working for 11 years on Tower 10CD. “I was ready for a change, and the Float Pool is a great way to learn new skills and care for new types of patients,” she said. “I’m learning all the time.”
Aishia Springer, BSN, RN, who has worked in the Intermediate Float Pool for seven years, said caring for a variety of patients is rewarding. “I care for patients in plastics, hem/onc, ortho, med/surg and other areas,” she said. “Float nurses do everything.”
“I love it,” she added.
Donna Greenan of the Intermediate Float Pool, left, and Regina Whelan-Hines of the ICU Float Pool in the ED.
Letter of Thanks to Michelle Frangioso, RN, of the Intermediate Float Pool
Every once in a great while, during life’s journey, we come across a person whose talents and gifts are so unique, their commitment to excellence so complete, and their consummate professionalism so striking, that they deserve special recognition, and that is why I am writing you regarding Nurse Michelle Frangioso.
Frankly, I was struggling with some things after my surgery last week. However, I had the good fortune to have encountered Michelle, and she was most helpful in restoring my confidence that things would get better, and she openly addressed my anxieties about what I was experiencing. Michelle’s warmth, sense of openness, communications ability, personal style and upbeat humor were immense. Further, she was also able to patiently describe what I could expect; answered all of my questions completely in terms that I could relate to; and followed through on every request in a timely manner, using the resources available to her.
Michelle Frangioso is a truly remarkable woman, who, based on the wonderful (medical) care I received from her, is the Role Model of a Nurse that I carry with me.
-From a patient in October
Donna McEachern of the ICU Float Pool cares for patient Gerald Laranjo in the MICU.