There are two projects I am most proud of. The first was the initiative I took early in the COVID-19 Pandemic to solve the PPE crisis at MRMC. I found a creative commons pattern online, created the small prototype on the doll at 11 pm, and at 530 am the next day, gathered my supplies and headed to work.  I pitched the idea, demonstrated the process, and the COO was willing to give it a try. We created 85 gowns in one day, my manager and I. Knowing we would need a much bigger team to create the number of gowns needed, we were able to quickly mobilize a team of wonderful volunteers who were brave enough to come into the medical center at a time when everyone was fearful. Through the creativity of the engineering department, the use of the cafeteria (no visitors were allowed in due to the pandemic) and my direction, we assembled a team to manage the daily count of gowns needed. We developed a process for the distribution of gowns to each unit twice per day, and kept careful records of utilization to right-size production and distribution to each unit, through collaboration with each department. I worked between the team of dedicated volunteers, and the staff who were not happy that we were not able to supply them with their usual gowns. However, the staff and patients were kept safe and protected. The staff infection rate for covid over a five- month period was 0.87% .the project  solved a problem, met the needs of patients and the organization, and was an opportunity to be part of something extraordinary. I learned that I love to solve problems and lead teams. It was valuable leadership experience that I felt blessed to be part of.

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     The second, is the DNP project I completed with my partner Lisa. We took an idea mentioned by the Director of a nursing program at a midwestern university, and used our experience and vision to developed a project to impact nursing student retention rates through resilience building. The project exceeded our expectations and we are ready to get to work to improve the lives of and retain as many nursing students and nurse residents as we can. We hope to take what we learned through our DNP program and make a contribution to the nursing profession and the quality and safety of patient care through nursing education.