Perkins named Nurse of the Year

Kaitlyn Perkins ’22 recently was named Nurse of the Year for Roper Mt. Pleasant Hospital.

Perkins identified a need in her work and developed a project on her unit that not only lead to every patient receiving a daily bath but also has landed her a position as a presenter at the American Nurses Credentialing Center National Magnet Conference this fall.

After Perkins’ manager identified that their inpatient floor wasn’t in line with their bathing quota, Perkins went to work.  She said, “We as nurses use several different signs and magnets on our doors for various information about patients, and I thought that it would be smart to utilize another magnet that would be helpful to communicate the date of the patient’s last bath. 

“With my experience as a patient care technician before becoming an RN, I saw the value in making sure that each and every patient is bathed. I decided that I wanted to do something that would be creative and would capture attention, which is why I decided to go for the duck theme. Once we completed education on the project with the staff, the project itself took a little over a month to get up and running and is still being used over a year later,” she said.

Perkins credits the CSU College of Nursing for preparing her for her career with a well-rounded experience that included clinical rotations, simulations, hands-on lab experience, and research projects. “I wouldn’t have been able to complete what I have accomplished without the amazing support of my professors,” said Perkins.

She said the process of being named Nurse of the Year is run entirely by nursing services throughout the system. “It shows that my peers see me as a mentor, leader, and someone who is actively working to bring new knowledge and ideas to the field of nursing,” she said. Perkins looks forward to sharing her ideas with a national audience.

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