The Nancy T. Semerdjian Nursing Excellence Fund provides assistance for special nursing certifications, professional development opportunities and nursing-based research at NorthShore University HealthSystem (NorthShore). Philanthropy helps provide this important support for NorthShore nurses. This year, for National Nurses Week, we are highlighting a recipient of the scholarship to illustrate the efforts our nurses put forth beyond their normal duties.

Cheryl Wong is a Clinical Nurse Manager in Cardiology at NorthShore and a 2017 scholarship recipient. Cheryl went “above and beyond” when she turned a capstone project for school into a standardized project for NorthShore.

“She asked me to be her preceptor for her final semester in school. For her capstone project, we selected bedside handoff. Handoff is the time when care of a patient is transferred from one nurse to another during a shift change, so having better communication and accountability between nurses can improve patient safety,” said Barb Miller, Vice President of Nursing at NorthShore. “The project was initially limited to a nursing unit at Skokie. In the end, it was Cheryl who led the launch of our medical and surgical systemwide bedside handoff standardization project for NorthShore.”

Cheryl was instrumental and extraordinary in her leadership skills as she led the project, which supports NorthShore’s quest to mentor our own.

“It was a privilege and an honor to be Cheryl’s preceptor for her capstone project,” said Barb. “We both gained from the experience.”