Kerry Toal ’09 BSN, MSN, RNC-NIC, IBCLC

Nursing Professional Development

New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell

May 22, 2020

Being in Nursing Professional Development during the pandemic was a challenge to say the least.  Trying to train the entire hospital to Adult COVID ICU care including OR, PACU, Med-Surg and my own department of Pediatrics which had to change specialties at the drop of a hat. 

I was so proud of the nurses around the hospital and especially the pediatric nurses I work with for their ability to rise up to the situation at hand.  As a department we had to determine every nurses’ competency in relation to adult ICU and then have to come up with how to ensure they could give safe competent care to our new patient population of an entire hospital filled with adult COVID ICU’s. 

We also trained nurses - coming from other hospitals to be able to jump in in one day - to our equipment and policies and up train any who did not previously have ICU experience.  It was an experience of community just like at Villanova where everyone worked together and appreciated all that everyone had to offer.

I have never seen NYC nurses come together like this and it has made me so proud!