Congratulations, Joan Lemock, BSN, RN, CRNI®, 2010 CRNI® of the Year!

The Infusion Nurses Certification Corporation (INCC) is pleased to announce the selection of Joan Lemock, BSN, RN, CRNI®, as the recipient of INCC’s prestigious 2010 CRNI® of the Year award. Ms. Lemock is the Coordinator of Infusion Therapy/Central Line Team at Saint Vincent Health Center in Erie, PA.

Ms. Lemock’s selection from a competitive pool of very accomplished candidates was based on her commitment to infusion therapy certification, patient advocacy, promotion of the professional image of the infusion nurse, and enhancement of infusion therapy within her organization. The INCC Board of Directors’ decision was based in part on the following nomination submitted by Ms. Lemock’s coworkers, Mary Whipple RN, CRNI® and Jean Gorniak, RN, CRNI®:

Joan has worked on the IV Team for over 20 years. She is always searching out ways to improve her practice. She encourages team members to increase their clinical skills and practice at a level well above national standards. Joan is a member of the hospital-based Certification Task Force, which supports and actively promotes nursing certification throughout the organization. She continuously champions infusion therapy education and passionately encourages certification in this specialty. To promote this, a copy of the INS Core Curriculum for Infusion Nursing was made available to us all.

During the past year, over 70 new graduate nurses were hired into the facility. Joan coordinated a didactic session as well as a clinical rotation with an experienced infusion therapy nurse for every new graduate nurse. This process has greatly improved the knowledge and skills of all nurses caring for peripheral and central venous access devices and promotes positive outcomes. Most recently, she developed a computer-based Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infection (CLABSI)) competency for completion by all facility RNs. Joan holds all of us on the the Infusion Therapy/Central Line Team accountable to practice within the Infusion Nursing Standards of Practice, which she knows like the back of her dorsal metacarpal!

Joan continues to seek knowledge and achieved a personal educational goal by obtaining her BSN in 2008, graduating summa cum laude and receiving awards for excellence and leadership. She continues to promote unit and individual growth by encouraging all infusion nurses to be active in shared governance.

Joan has always been a proponent of research and data collection. With the help of the IT department, she developed a database in which all PICC insertions and attempts are logged. Complication rates are tracked, and Joan meets with the clinical data analysts to review results. Strategies for process improvement are developed and implemented. Networking is a critical element of her role as she presents the data to physician groups, the Performance Improvement Nursing Council (of which she is a member), IV Therapy staff nurses, and the Central Line Task Force, which is a house-wide interdisciplinary group developed in 2000 to decrease CLABSI. This program is one of four Highmark quality improvement programs at the health center. Joan networks with professional organizations in the community to promote continuity of care for clients and ensure positive outcomes for infusion therapy patients in multiple settings (e.g., Regional Cancer Center). Joan is a resource to regional Highmark providers in the discussion of strategies to prevent PICC-associated thrombus formation. On a daily basis, Joan collaborates with nurses, physicians, pharmacists, radiology, vascular technologists, education leadership, and patients and families to promote best practices for all. She sits on the advisory board for a local high school health-tracks program to discuss and promote careers in healthcare for high school students. Overall, we cannot think of a better candidate for the 2010 CRNI® of the Year award.

Joan Lemock has demonstrated a commitment to infusion therapy not only through her professional accomplishments. Ms Lemock has held a current CRNI® credential since 1991 and is a dedicated member of the Infusion Nurses Society (INS). Please join us in congratulating Ms. Lemock on her accomplishments within the specialty of infusion nursing.