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Perioperative providers often work behind the scenes, carefully coordinating each step in the surgical care process—from scheduling and preoperative preparation to intraoperative surgery and postoperative recovery.

Jessica Hawkins, MSN, RN, NPE-C director of perioperative services for Midland Health says every member of her perioperative team plays an integral role in focusing their expertise to give patients the best experiences and outcomes possible.

“My staff have such big hearts, we see every patient as a member of our family,” Hawkins says, explaining that this ownership for every surgical patients’ well-being is part of living the Culture of Ownership at Midland Health. “Going above and beyond for our patients is something we expect from each other every day and this even extends out beyond our care setting here in West Texas.”

Hawkins shares the story of one of her anesthesia techs who took time during her lunch break to go to a book fair at the school across the street from Midland Memorial Hospital to buy books for children who couldn’t afford the expense.

Communication At A Higher Level

Hawkins says this extraordinary caring and commitment is most evident in her team members’ ownership for their individual practice, which translates to dedicated communication in the practice setting through:

streamlined communication among providers that begins with surgical scheduling to ensure clear understanding for patient and provider needs;
a preoperative patient clinic for anesthesia assessment and testing to ensure patient readiness for surgery;
thorough patient education to help patients and families be adequately prepared for postoperative care; and
open team communication through daily huddles, weekly shared governance meetings and regular updates from Hawkins to ensure transparency.
Hands-on Leadership
Hawkins leads by example and she empowers her managers and staff to do the same, which she says is a key factor in her department’s “magnificent culture that provides excellent patient care.” She notes her team is a two-time ANCC Pathway to Excellence® organization and is on their Magnet journey.

“I am very privileged to be in a position to lead people, support them and empower their continued development to be their best,” Hawkins says. “Often perioperative staff don’t get the recognition for their work because their patients are under anesthesia, so it’s very important to me that I focus on positive interactions and encouragement for the amazing job my staff do every day.”

She is also very team oriented and attributes her and her staff members’ successful teamwork to their true commitment to living Midland Health’s Culture of Ownership through real-time communication and daily practices such as a taking the Pickle Pledge to prevent toxic emotional negativity from being allowed in all forms.

Empowered Practice Through Technology, Innovation

With nurse and physician champions dedicated to evidence-based approaches, Hawkins’ team continually seeks out ways to help patients heal faster and achieve optimal surgical outcomes with:

two da Vinci surgical robots to support minimally invasive surgical care;
a Trumpf table used in robotic surgery to support safe patient positioning and decreased procedure time;
robotic consoles tailored for physician and surgical resident education; and
an Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) program to support earlier postoperative patient recovery and decreased length of stay.
“My ideal perioperative provider must be team oriented and be an owner in our culture and what we want to achieve, whether it’s being active in our shared governance or even just presenting a positive outlook, no matter what is happening around them,” Hawkins says. “I’m looking for a team member whose soul purpose in being here is to provide exceptional patient experiences while working with amazing staff.”

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