James Kurtz, RN; Kimberly Calhoun, MSN, RN, CCRN; and chief nursing officer Jim Ballinghoff, MSN, MBA, RN, NEA-BC (Credit: Will Connelly)
Last month, two of PPMC’s star nurses were inducted into the third cohort of Penn Medicine’s Distinguished Nurse Clinician Academy. The academy recognizes nurses who are not only knowledgeable about clinical practices and role models for their colleagues, but who are impassioned advocates for patients and their families, and who possess exceptional interprofessional skills. The program aims to help spread clinical excellence throughout the health system and to influence the best practices of future nurses.
PPMC’s Kimberly Calhoun, MSN, RN, CCRN, a clinical nurse on PAC 2, and James Kurtz, RN, a clinical nurse on CUPP 3 East, both consistently go above and beyond for their patients, and the nomination letters written by their peers offer just a glimpse into their dedication and compassion.
Calhoun has been a nurse for 28 years and has worked as a staff nurse, clinical nurse educator, and nurse manager before returning to a frontline clinical nurse role in 2014. She has advocated for vital documentation changes in PennChart, worked with unit leadership to reduce wait times, created a reference binder for pre-op charge nurses and organized daily huddles, and much more. Calhoun received the Helen McClelland Award for Research and Innovation twice, most recently in 2016, and has been nominated for a number of other awards in recognition of her leadership, professionalism, and passion for continuing education.
In her recommendation letter for Calhoun, Jennifer Marcellus, BSN, RN, PCCN, a clinical nurse on PAC 2, noted, “I have known Kim through our shared work on cardiology units for 24 years. She has always been an exemplary employee, always pushing herself and others to learn, grow, and love nursing. She has done so much in her time here to further her own knowledge and push nursing to higher limits, and she provides guidance to her colleagues through positive feedback and leading by example. It was my pleasure to recommend her, as she is a shining example of Presby Pride and leadership. My only challenge in recommending her was paring down to the maximum requirement of words because I had so many great things to say about her!”
Kurtz has spent the last 18 years of his 37-year nursing career at Penn. For 20 years, he served as a community health worker, health center advisor, nursing supervisor, and public health administrator in Southeast Asia. He is certified in Progressive Care Nursing, serves as the unit representative on the Information and Technology Committee and on the Cultural Diversity Committee, is an EMR Ambassador for PennChart, and serves on the advisory board for a “CPR Anywhere” project that spans 14 hospitals.
Kurtz was nominated by his nurse manager, Jennifer Nelson, RN, MSN, CCRN, whose letter noted that from his “happy-to-help” personality, to his role as the “go-to for difficult IV placements,” Kurtz is “the person you want at your side during an emergency.” Nelson continued, “I recommended Jim for many reasons. He is patient and encouraging, and he is highly regarded by his patients and his co-workers. He takes nurses under his wing, and he is known for being a gracious and humble leader. He consistently provides stellar patient care, and he is an invaluable resource on the unit. Jim is an amazing co-worker, friend, and nurse, and he is an asset to Penn Medicine.”