FRANN NICU Nurse of the Quarter – Summer 2020
Name:
Jessica Stanislawski
How long have you been a nurse? A NICU nurse?
I’ve been a nurse for 11 years, 8 of those years have been dedicated to working in the NICU at CHCO.
What NICU do you work at?
The Children’s Hospital of Colorado NICU.
Can you describe this unit?
I would describe the patient population that we care for at CHCO as very diverse. We have an opportunity to see a full spectrum of diagnoses including, but not limited to, prematurity, pulmonary disease, CDH, congenital heart issues, surgical, HIE, sepsis, and rare genetic disorders. Many of our patients are born at Children’s in our Maternal Fetal Unit because they are diagnosed prenatally and are expected to require a NICU stay and some are hospitalized here until well after their first birthday.
What is your favorite NICU patient?
I can’t say that I am drawn to any specific patient population. I just love babies.
Tell us one thing about yourself your colleagues don’t know.
Until recently I don’t think that my colleagues knew how much I loved to paint. I create bright joyous paintings on my days off and it’s such a nice way for me to relax and cultivate mindfulness. The unit recently installed an apparatus in one of the meeting rooms which allows for the display of artistic pieces made by the staff. It is such an awesome and innovative way to help with retention in the unit. I participated by having my art displayed for 3 months.