Laura Spinney, BSN, RN, CCRN
Medical Intensive Care Unit, Braunwald Tower 3BC

Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) staff and leaders have innumerable examples of the compassionate, relationship-based care that Laura Spinney, BSN, RN, CCRN, provides to patients and their loved ones. There was the Halloween party she planned so that a patient could celebrate with her children. And the time that Spinney coordinated a wedding in the MICU for a patient’s daughter so the patient could witness the ceremony. There are also examples of quieter moments, such as the days that Spinney spent helping a dying patient write cards to be given to her children as they grow up.

“Throughout 13 years of nursing, I have learned a lot about myself,” wrote Spinney in a clinical narrative reflecting upon her practice. “I know that I need to learn something about the person in the bed, before they were a patient. There are patients I always think about because they are just as much a part of my story as I was theirs.”

Nursing Director Hasna Hakim, DNP, RN, CCRN, who nominated Spinney for the award, says that she is frequently assigned to care for patients with the most complex clinical and emotional needs and those who are nearing the end of life because of the trusting relationships she forms with them.

“I have seen families leave the bedside to go home for the first time in days, simply because Laura was assigned to care for their loved one,” said colleague Jessie Brain, MSN, FNP-C, RN, CCRN, in a letter of support. “Families know she will be watching over the patient every minute, all while anticipating and managing each need and change in condition that might occur.”

Spinney is also known for the support she provides to colleagues. “If another patient becomes unstable on the unit, Laura is always the first to walk into the room and selflessly and proficiently assist in the care of the patient,” noted Brain.

Jennifer Bartell, RN, said that Spinney is highly respected by all team members. “In her interactions with patients, families, physicians, team members and peers, Laura’s approach is always one of professionalism: caring with kindness, compassion and inclusivity,” she wrote in a letter of support. “Her knowledge of critical care nursing in a dynamic environment is only surpassed by her understanding of the human condition and the subtleties therein.”

Spinney joined the MICU in 2008 after two years in the Intermediate General Medicine Unit. She earned her BSN from Boston College.

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