Joell Tadlock, B.S.N., R.N., CCRN, at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Stephenville is the 2021 Pathway to Excellence Nurse of the Year — an honor given to just one direct care nurse selected from hundreds of Pathway organizations globally.
“I didn’t even know I had been nominated,” said Tadlock, an intensive care unit nurse. “I’m so humbled. It is amazing to even think about it.”
The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Pathway to Excellence Nurse of the Year award, in its second year, was given Nov. 12 to Tadlock as well as one nurse leader chosen from 207 organizations. Tadlock, who received the direct care award, was in Atlanta for the presentation, along with her 78-year-old mother, a retired nurse — and Tadlock’s inspiration.
“I watched her take care of my grandparents through cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer’s. I watched her do CPR on my grandfather twice,” said Tadlock, who decided then that she could take care of people, too.
A nurse since 1994, she started her career with Texas Health in 1997 at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas. Tadlock worked at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest Fort Worth next and made her way west to Stephenville in 2002.
“Joell practices at the expert level in our intensive care unit and she takes a holistic approach to nursing,” wrote Cindy McCarthy, D.N.P., M.B.A., R.N., NEA-BC, CEN, chief nursing officer at Texas Health Stephenville, in her nomination letter. “She ‘nurses out loud’ so that patients understand what is happening to them and why.”
In a narrative that accompanied the nomination letter, Kerry Parkinson, J.D., M.H.A., B.S.N., R.N., director of medical-surgical and critical care at the hospital, and National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI) site coordinator, described Tadlock’s clinical acumen as well.
In one case, she noticed a patient’s symptoms and recommended a CT scan, using an SBAR to report her findings to the hospitalist treating the patient. The surgeon scheduled immediate surgery and Tadlock stayed with the patient and a family member, helping guide them through the crisis.
Another case involved a young patient with a variety of severe symptoms. She educated him on a procedure that potentially could improve his life and then “sat with him and actively listened, so he could grapple with the life-altering decision he faced about whether to pursue treatment,” Parkinson wrote.
Tadlock has been active in many Texas Health nursing councils, teams and committees (see box above).
Tadlock, who is writing an article in collaboration with the ANCC, noted that Pathway to Excellence overall recognizes the healthy work environment and the work nurses do at Texas Health Stephenville in shared decision-making, leadership, safety, quality, well-being and professional development.
“My involvement in these standards while I’m on the front line in the ICU is very rewarding,” she said. “They’ve empowered me to make a positive impact on patient care. Often, you can see things change right before your eyes.”
