2015 Gold Medalist ~ Clinical Practice in a Large Hospital

Cori Kopecky, MSN, RN, OCN, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

A nurse for nearly nine years, Cori Kopecky began her career at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center on the Head and Neck Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Unit. Three years ago she transitioned to the Post Anesthesia Care Unit, where she now serves as a clinical resource nurse.

Cori’s passion for nursing came early in life. “I remember watching the movie Steel Magnolias when I was six or seven,” she says. “There’s a scene in which Shelby, played by Julia Roberts, was in the nursery caring for the babies, and I thought that’s what I want to do. So fast-forward a few years. My grandfather had a massive stroke, and my mother took me to visit him in the hospital. When I saw the love his nurses shared with him while they cared for him, I knew that being a nurse was my calling in life. I’m always aware that each of my patients is somebody’s grandfather, grandmother, brother, sister, mother, father, aunt, or uncle and that I have the opportunity to make a memorable impact.”

Cori graduated from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches with her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2006, joined MD Anderson as a novice nurse, and went through the New Graduate Residency Program. From the get-go, she was passionate about mentoring other nurses and encouraging their professional development.

“I love caring for patients, and I love helping other nurses develop their practice,” she says. “As a clinical resource nurse I’m able to help nurses grow professionally and personally in their roles. I have a strong desire to take all the knowledge and guidance I’ve been given in my career by my mentors and colleagues and instill that in others.”

After noticing that, even after orientation, novice nurses were struggling to connect nursing theory and clinical practice, Cori conducted a survey related to the orientation process to evaluate areas that might be improved for nurses in her clinical specialty area. Based on the results of the survey, she collaborated with her colleagues and assisted in developing a course called Connecting the Dots. The course focused on didactics and skill development required in caring for high-acuity patients in the PACU, including ventilator management, flap assessment, hemodynamic monitoring, malignant hyperthermia, and recovery scores. The project improved the professional development of novice nurses and standard of care for patients in the high-acuity postoperative recovery period, and has now been expanded to include nurses advancing from novice to the competent phase of their nursing career.

After reviewing outcomes from the project, Cori and a colleague wrote an abstract about the Connecting the Dots class, which was accepted for presentation at the American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses Conference (ASPAN) held in April 2015 in San Antonio. She also mentored two other nursing teams and helped them develop their own abstracts for the conference, resulting in a total of seven abstracts written by MD Anderson nurses and accepted by the ASPAN.

“Her commitment to nurses and ability to mentor them at all levels of their clinical practice is remarkable,” wrote her nominator Kelly Brassil, PhD, RN, AOCNS, ACNS-BC, CNL, director of nursing research and innovation at MD Anderson. “She also has a deep commitment to exceptional patient care and embodies nursing behaviors that help patients and caregivers understand how to confront, learn, and think about health and illness and enhance decision-making ability about care. She contributes to assisting with new graduate nursing resident program education, mentoring new PACT members, and professionally developing nurses. She is well recognized for her ability to impact not only one nurse or one patient but, through her commitment to mentoring and innovative clinical practice, to impact nursing teams and our culture of patient care.”

Cori was recognized with the MD Anderson Nursing Excellence Award for Clinical Practice in an Inpatient Setting in May 2015, and has received an MD Anderson Cancer Center Performance Award every year since 2008. She is a member of the Phi Chi Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing.

Asked what she’s learned from her patients, she answers, “I’ve learned that the first impression you make on a patient or a colleague can last a lifetime. They may not remember your name or your face but they’ll remember how you made them feel. I don’t think we recognize the impact we have. Just knowing that is one of the things, along with my family and faith in God, that gives me the motivation and inspiration to be a better person, a better friend, a better wife, a better mother.

“As nurses we work long hours,” adds Cori, who completed her Master of Nursing Degree in Nursing Education at the University of Houston-Victoria in 2012. “We spend more time at work than at home. I have a special bond with the friends I’ve made from the time I was a new graduate to now. We celebrate weddings and births together, and share sorrows. I hold a special place in my heart for each and every person I’ve met at MD Anderson.”

Cori says she views each day as a new challenge and a new adventure. “It’s rare that you find something you love at a young age. I was fortunate enough to have the support of my family and friends, which has allowed me to be where I am today, and I hope to continue to grow and inspire other nurses to reach their full potential just as I’ve been inspired. People who have helped me along the way stand out in my mind. I hope to be that person for others.”