Spotlight
Spotlight on Nursing is a monthly feature profile on a Lucile Packard Children's Hospital nurse.
Lynda Knight, RN, Life Support and Resuscitation Educator, was appointed this month to join the National Faculty of the American Heart Association. She is one of the nurse educators at the Center for Nursing Excellence.
She will serve on the national board as the scientific content expert for Pediatric Life Support, representing the Northwest Region and partake in the dissemination and implementation of the 2010 scientific resuscitation guidelines. It is her latest honor and one that touches her personally, as her father died from sudden cardiac arrest.
Lynda received another accolade last May when years of work culminated in her program, CPR Anytime, being adopted as part of Lucile Packard Children's Hospital's official discharge program. CPR Anytime, an educational program, includes a 22-minute DVD and a kit with an inflatable child manikin that helps teach parents how to recognize unresponsiveness in infants and children, call 911 and begin CPR immediately.
Packard Children's Hospital becomes the first pediatric hospital with this program, and Lynda hopes Packard Children's will set a precedent and CPR Anytime will become standardized teaching for children’s hospitals across the country and around the world.
When Lynda graduated from nursing school in 1984 and worked in West Palm Beach, Fla., for five years before coming to Packard Children's Hospital, she could never have dreamed that her career would lead her to this point where her passion has become training as many people as possible in the skills of resuscitation.
“Learning and studying Pediatric Resuscitation is my passion" she says unabashedly. “Using the research and the evidence we have, we can save lives.”
Spotlight on Nursing Q & A
Who influenced you as a leader?
My director, Amy Nichols, gave me the confidence, the tools, and the ongoing support to enhance my skills involving research and fueled my passion for what I do. My colleague and dear friend, Michael Jacobs, was also a very significant influence, reminding me to stay true to my passions and pursue them despite obstacles that I could encounter.
What advice do you have for emerging leaders?
Stay true to what you believe. Maintain your integrity. Do not ever give up hope, even when situations can appear hopeless. Relentless determination and reminding myself of one of my favorite quotes--" Tough times don't last but tough people do" –helped me persevere.
Any regrets?
No! Sometimes I am sad for the time missed with friends or family as I pursued what I believed needed to change or happen for the safety of LPCH patients, but my family and friends are so proud of the accomplishments my colleagues and I have achieved. I believe it has set a valuable example for them to never give up.
What obstacles have gotten in your way as a new leader?
At times, there was an inability in others to want to see things differently. CHANGE. It’s hard for us all to look at things in a different way or to convince others that a new way makes sense. This is how I became so passionate about research. I love being able to show evidence of what I believe in, and what I hypothesize through research, actually can work and make a difference.
What is one thing that might surprise your peers and colleagues ?
That I could never have done any of it without their continued support, their endless encouragement and their sincere friendship. I am blessed to be surrounded by the people I work with on a day to day basis.