Get to know the Sharp team: Meet Amy Poulin, emergency room clinical lead
There truly is a difference at Sharp — and our employees see the difference every day. Our team of dedicated, supportive nurses impacts the way our patients receive care each day.
Hear from Amy Poulin, emergency room clinical lead at Sharp Memorial Hospital, and read what she has to say about her career with us.
What is your Sharp Memorial team like?
The team I work with in the emergency department (ED) is amazing. The nurses in the ED have autonomy and our physicians really listen to our opinions. We have hourly huddles and we talk about our patients.
We also have an ED physician-nurse mentor group, and every month we go out and we do events together. We do activities like trivia and paintball. We really have a solid relationship, not only at work, but outside of work. It makes a big difference in our daily interactions.
Sharp not only allows me to grow in my profession, but also to build so many important relationships and friendships with people who will be a part of my life forever, and that's all because of Sharp.
How has Sharp supported you in your role?
I feel so supported in my role as a nurse in the ER. I've been at Sharp since 2002. I started in transplant before moving to the emergency room.
Our leadership, which I recently joined, makes sure that our nurses are supported in their roles.
I have been at Sharp my entire nursing career. I plan to stay at Sharp for my entire nursing career. Sharp has everything that I need and everything that I want in a career.
Sharp has allowed me the opportunity to grow in my profession. I have been a transplant nurse, a transplant coordinator, an ER nurse and now a clinical lead. I've been able to do that because I've been supported by upper leadership in every step that I've taken.
What has been the biggest advantage to working for a recognized health system?
Working at a Magnet® recognized hospital is really the gold standard for nursing. When nurses are looking for somewhere to go, they really want to know that their voice is heard. A Magnet facility ensures that a nurse’s voice is heard in every way.
We are a Planetree Patient-Centered Hospital, which is a designation based on patient-centered care. Sharp is focused on patient-centered care; as a nurse, it gives me the ability to do what I love to do — which is take care of patients and their families — and to do that in a very supportive environment.
As a clinical nurse, I really had no idea what the clinical leads did. What I've realized at Sharp is that we can — and are encouraged to — help others grow. So now, I have 24 direct reports that I get to help grow into their profession in emergency medicine, and that has been an amazing journey for me.
