Jeff has been with PPI since July 2015. He spent years in customer service/quality control while managing a carpet cleaning company in Arizona. Jeff states, 鈥淚 believe customer service translates very well to nursing. Foundationally, we must be respectful of our patients, even when they are going through a difficult stretch. Try to provide a sense of calm in the middle of everything going on. I like to give my team members a sense that we will get through this moment.鈥�
Jeff recommends taking time to catch your breath. Take a walk-off unit for a break. Be mindful and remember we are all one chemical imbalance or a bad moment away from being a patient at PPI. Talk to your team. Ask any and every question.
My biggest inspiration for working at PPI is the relationship I have with other staff members, Paul and Nikki (therapists). The professional way they help the locums get acclimated quickly when they join PPI. And how they help turn a patient in complete 鈥渇ailure to thrive鈥� mode, at times catatonic, and return them to their life and family. I am proud to be part of a team that quickly understands where a patient may be struggling in the progress of their treatment. We all work together when the unit acuity triggers past trauma in staff. I am thankful to Kim, for somehow managing the 鈥渃hallenges鈥� we deal with and still finding time to sit down with staff and help them process a difficult situation. In 2024, Jeff will be retiring to work part-time in Mobile Psych Nursing.
I鈥檓 not social. I鈥檓 not openly conversational. I鈥檓 a private person. I have difficulty speaking in front of others; since becoming a nurse in 2015, I鈥檝e had to push myself beyond those self-imposed barriers. I鈥檓 thankful that I was inspired to go back to school at 50 to become a RN. And that when a patient is upset and yelling (at staff or me), I鈥檓 thankful and remain mindful that it鈥檚 almost never about us/me. It鈥檚 about their loss of control, a place in life, losing their phone, their bed, immediate contact with family, and their ability to come and go. This place, our place here, we need to remember as caregivers, it鈥檚 not about us. It鈥檚 about them.
I leave you with these words: 鈥淗ow can I help you?鈥�