Faces of Bryan

Each morning Kari Jones, RN, wakes up to a text that tells her exactly where she’s going that day. One day she might be assigned to a geriatric unit at Bryan East Campus, and then the next, she’s helping at the Emergency Department on Bryan West Campus. As a float nurse, the unknown is just a part of the job – and she’s been doing it for nearly 30 years.

“I like change,” she said. “It's nice, because everybody's always happy to see me.”

Providing the Best Care

While most float nurses either came from a unit or transfer to a more permanent unit after floating for a time, Kari has never considered staying in one place. She knows that even though it can be hard to build that patient-nurse bond or even bond with co-workers after just one shift, her role plays a huge part in providing the top-notch care Bryan is known for. Her dedication to providing the best possible stay for her patients has become widely known throughout the hospital.

“I was a house supervisor before I knew her. So at that time, I knew of her – she was a name to me, and then also kind of a legend as well, because she is just so well known around the hospital,” Blair Heard, nurse manager for float pool staff, said.

“She truly goes above and beyond doing the little things for the patient. If the floor is really busy or we're short a tech and the patient needs a shower, she's the first one to do it. She knows that that's just as important to making them feel like a whole person and getting them better."

Role Model Nurse

Going above and beyond is the main function for the float pool. While its bread and butter is to fill in a spot or two on a unit, it’s not uncommon for the float pool to take on unique jobs or even open an entire unit on their own. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was often the float pool nurses out on COVID-19 testing or vaccine drives.

“We spent hours and hours swabbing noses in the COVID drive-thru just freezing or dripping in sweat,” Kari said. “The float pool gets pulled in many different directions.”

With all these different experiences under her belt, Kari has become a wealth of knowledge for every unit she floats to.

“The experience that she brings to the floor every day when she works and how she imparts that on other people is invaluable,” Blair said. “She doesn't formally precept people, but, people always feel so good coming to her with questions. She's very open with them. She teaches as she works."

Kari loves it. Having been on a different unit every shift for the past 30 years, she's been able to inspire and teach many students and then watch them grow as they travel through the nursing ranks.

“Through the years, so many students that I've had or I've worked with as nursing techs while they're in nursing school are now my co-workers or nurse practitioners,” she said. “It's nice to inspire some other people to go a bit above and beyond.”

"She's truly an example for any new nurse to follow," Blair said.

Helping Where Help Is Needed

Because of her experience and her positive attitude toward patient care, units welcome Kari with open arms.

“I remember when I was house supervisor," Blair said. "I would call units and be like, ‘Okay, here's who you're getting today,’ and it would be a sigh of relief when they would hear that Kari was coming to their unit. They just know they're getting a great nurse, someone who's going to do an amazing job no matter what the day brings.”

For Kari, it has always been about the patient, no matter the challenges that constant change as a float nurse brings.

“I just like taking care of people. I really do. Some of that is a little challenging, but taking care of patients is the same no matter where you're at.”