BWH in Spotlight at NTI

BWH Cardiac Surgery nurses at NTI included Karen Morth, MSN, RN, CCRN-CSC; Susan Gabriel, BSN, RN, CCRN-CSC; Lisa Comis, RN, CCRN-CSC; Andris Soble, RN, CCRN-CSC; Theresa Seeley, BSN, RN, CCRN; Mary Kate Hegarty, BSN, RN; Maria Bentain-Melanson, MSN, RN, CCRN-CSC; and Margaret Nemitz, BSN, RN.

Andris Soble, RN, CCRN-CSC, was hesitant when his nurse educator, Maria Bentain-Melanson, MSN, RN, CCRN-CSC, suggested that he audition for the guest emcee role at the American Association of Critical Care Nurses' National Teaching Institute (NTI) exposition in Boston.

"I can sometimes be a character, but I've never presented onstage," said Soble, who has worked in the Cardiac Surgery ICU for 23 years.

The "stage" at NTI is national, with more than 7,000 critical care nurses from across the country having attended the educational sessions in Boston this spring. After learning he was chosen for the guest emcee role, Soble shook off the jitters and concentrated on achieving his main goal. "I wanted to make BWH and my colleagues proud," he said.

During the three-day exposition, Soble introduced award recipients, facilitated the program and helped to recognize critical care nurses.  He also performed a humorous dance number and warmed up the crowd on the first day with a little comedy. "I spoke with a Boston accent, throwing around the words ‘wicked' and ‘awesome,'" he said. "The crowd liked it."

Bentain-Melanson said she knew that Andris was the right person for the guest emcee role, especially with the exposition's 2013 theme of "Dare to..."

"Andris dared to become a catalyst for personal and professional action, he dared to go back to school to finish his BSN, he dared to get involved in our unit's research project to lower central line-associated bloodstream infection rates, and he dared to showcase Boston nurses and culture by being an emcee," she said. "He stayed upbeat and positive and kept the audience's energy high the whole time."

In addition to entertaining the audience, Soble touched on the more serious topic of the Boston Marathon bombing response. "He talked about how proud he was of nurses, health care workers, city officials and the city as a whole for responding so quickly with courage and competence," Bentain-Melanson said. "The audience was moved by it."

As a result of his remarks, a group of nurses later told him their group had pooled together $1,000 for a donation to the Boston One Fund. "It was heartwarming," Soble said.

Justin Precourt, MSN, RN, nurse director of the Cardiac Surgery ICU, said Soble was a great representative of BWH. "It was really nice to see Andris have the confidence to get up there, and he had great energy throughout the conference," Precourt said. "Our nurses work so hard every day to provide excellent care to our patients and families, and it was rewarding to see BWH represented on the national stage and highlighted in this special way."

Nearly 20 Cardiac Surgery ICU nurses attended the event, with one group presenting a research poster on care redesign, a hospital-sponsored project on making care delivery more efficient with improved patient outcomes. An interdisciplinary team from the Burn/Trauma ICU also shared their experiences caring for patients from the Boston Marathon bombings, among other sessions attended or presented by BWH nurses.

According to his colleagues, Soble certainly achieved his goal of making them proud. "Andris embraced everyone with his warm, open approach, and after every morning session, people came to him and asked to take pictures with him on stage," said Lisa Comis, RN, CCRN-CSC. "As his co-worker, I felt so proud that he not only represented Boston at this national convention, but also our Cardiac Surgery ICU."