Nurses Month Special: A Day in the Life of Brooklyn Nurse Preceptor Bridget McQuilkin
Welcome to another edition of “A Day in the Life”—a Frontline series that follows staff members from different parts of VNS Health as they go about a typical day at work.
Frontline recently met up with Bridget McQuilken, who works in VNS Health Home Care’s Brooklyn region as a nurse preceptor. In this role, which is part of VNS Health’s Nurse Residency Program, she mentors recent nursing school graduates who are just starting out in the home care field. Bridget has been with the organization since 2018. Born in Grenada and raised in England, she was a schoolteacher before transitioning into the health care field. With over a decade of nursing experience in both the hospital and the home under her belt, she started at VNS Health as a field nurse in Manhattan before becoming a nurse preceptor last year.
We asked Bridget to take us through a typical day on the job.
5:30 a.m.
I jump up in the morning, have my shower, and get a huge breakfast: a hot cup of tea, two boiled eggs, a bowl of oatmeal with raisins and banana, half a bagel with nutmeg jelly, water, and a glass of juice. Then I get dressed and drive to the railroad station. I come in from Nassau County on Long Island, so I hop on the Long Island Rail Road and take it to Barclays Center in Brooklyn, then take the B train to Kings Highway and walk from there to the office. I come into our Brooklyn office Monday to Friday, and except for some days when I attend classes online, I’m in every day.
8:30 a.m.
Right now, I have six preceptees: Two new nurses and four nurses currently in the field, who I mainly give remote help to. If there’s anything complex these four nurses need to do with a patient that they feel they could use support on, I’ll plan my schedule so I can be there in person to advise them.
When I arrive in the office, any new nurses that I’m precepting meet with me and we prep for the day. We’ll sync our tablets to see what the day’s assignments are, and communicate with the office and managers as needed. We then call each of the patients the nurses are scheduled to see that day to make sure they’re home and set up a time to go see them. After that, we use our remaining time to review the patients’ medical records before setting out on our visits.
This morning, I meet my two new nurses, Marsharee Tinker-Mangroo and Lori DiGirolamo, for the first time. We introduce ourselves and go on a little scavenger hunt around the office to point out where things are. We talk about how we’ll go about a regular day, and then we make our patient calls. Unfortunately, neither of their patients are available to be seen today. Even if we don’t make a visit, though, we still have lots of documentation and communication to do, so I go through with them how to coordinate and let the care team know what is being done.
9:30 a.m.
I take a car to a patient’s home in East Flatbush to assist nurse Nogee Yehuda, who is one of the first nurses I precepted. Part of our job as nurse preceptors is to stay in touch with all the nurses we’ve precepted over the years and to be available for questions. Today, Nogee has to do a pneumothorax drainage, something she performed once before while shadowing me. I’m able to guide her through the procedure, and Nogee performs most of it herself with my direction—so now she is signed off as being safe to practice this skill with any patient.
10:45 a.m.
If the home visits had panned out today, I’d be heading with the new nurses to Starrett City and Coney Island to visit the patients. Instead, I come back to the office and do documentation with Marsharee and Lori. I guide them through VNS Health policies and review all their information before everything is sent in. A few weeks from now, they’ll be doing some documenting independently with my remote support, but even then I’ll continue to review their documentation.
Early afternoon
I never feel that I need to have lunch, because I have such a big breakfast. The time goes by so fast! Throughout the day, I’m also answering phone calls and emails and meeting with other managers here at the office. I do a lot of self-training, which our branch director Monica Cayemitte encourages us to do—it keeps you sharp. For example, this coming Friday I’ll be attending a wound care conference from home, but I will still be available to my nurses by phone or email to answer questions or give advice.
3:30 p.m.
Occasionally I’ll have a meeting towards the end of the day—a team for a particular nurse may have a weekly debrief where we’ll meet and talk about how we’re each doing, and how we can help and offer support. One of the best things about being a preceptor is sharing what I know regarding patient care. The education aspect of this role makes me a more well-rounded clinician both in knowledge and skill. There’s still a lot I’m learning as well, so my fellow preceptors and I have our own group chat where we’ll pick each other’s brains, bounce ideas around, and enhance ourselves.
4:45 p.m.
To get home, I’ll get back on the B train to Barclay’s Center, and from there take the train back to Long Isalnd. Then it’s a five-minute drive from the station to my house.
6:30 p.m.
Once home, I shower and then have dinner with my husband. After dinner, I’ll look at my VNS Health tablet and check what else I need to review for the next day. Then I’ll have a little bit of down time. I like to watch the political news to see what everybody’s talking about. Before I go to bed, I’ll watch the local news to check for any train issues as well as the weather for the next day. While that’s playing in the background, I’ll review my nurses for the next day and send emails out, so by morning the schedulers can make assignments and by the time I get into the office the nurses are ready to go.
I just want to add that I love being a nurse preceptor. We get to mentor these nurses and teach them what we know—and we get to learn and grow with them at the same time too!
To read other “Day in the Life” features about VNS Health team members, click here.
