Q&A With Lynnette Nied: Nurse Practitioner State Award for Excellence Winner

Lynnette Nied, MSN, RN, CNP, is a certified nurse practitioner who specializes in internal medicine and cares for adult patients at Cleveland Clinic’s Twinsburg Family Health and Surgery Center. Recently, Nied was presented the American Association of Nurse Practitioners’ (AANP) ‘Nurse Practitioner State Award for Excellence’ at the 2016 AANP National Conference. Each year since 1991, AANP has been recognizing outstanding achievements by nurse practitioners by honoring one nurse practitioner in each state throughout the United States who has demonstrated excellence in clinical practice. Nied was the award recipient for the state of Ohio.

Q: What does winning this award mean to you?

A: As nurses, we talk about the art and the science of nursing and clinical excellence and we all worry about being smart and knowing enough and that’s all so very important, but it’s not everything. To me, much of what I do clinically is about relationships – relationships with my colleagues and my patients. Winning this award solidifies my thoughts about how important relationships are in healthcare. The entire award recognition and receipt process has been extremely humbling. I cannot put words to just how humbling it has been. It’s simply been a feeling of “wow” – and I am extremely thankful.

Q: Given this award is presented to a nurse practitioner who demonstrates clinical practice excellence, how do you think you excel in your practice?

A: I think this question goes back to what I said earlier about relationships. Your patients need to know you care about them and that’s something that I hold dear to my heart. Being around my patients every day is what I love most about my job – it’s why I do what I do. I was once asked by another practitioner how I get my patients to hug me and I said I didn’t know, but I think it’s because I show them I truly care.

I view what I do as an opportunity and a privilege. I have the opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives each and every day and to touch people in a way that shows them how much I care. And, they touch me right back. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t feel thankful for something a patient said or did. I often walk out of my patients’ rooms and think to myself, “I’m so thankful for that experience.” I think as healthcare professionals, the caring and the relationships we have with our patients makes what we do so special. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. It’s a gift.

Q: Can you give a specific example where you really felt you displayed excellence in your profession?

A: It’s hard to pinpoint specific examples, but there is one patient who comes to mind. This patient came to me for a general physical. For years, his caregivers had always said they detected/heard a heart murmur; however, they had never obtained an echocardiogram. As I was performing his physical, the murmur was loud and I told him I really felt he needed an echocardiogram – that I did not like unanswered questions – so I ordered one for him. Soon after, members from our Emergency Department care team called me to tell me he had a dissecting thoracic aorta. I was so thankful we caught it and they were able to fix it.

Q: When did you decide you wanted to be a nurse practitioner?

A: Well, I became a nurse in 1981 after graduating from Ursuline College. I started my career in a cardiovascular step-down unit at Cleveland Clinic, but spent the bulk of my early career in pediatric critical care, becoming a clinical nurse specialist in pediatric critical care in 1990. In 1999, I began working on my post-graduate degree upon entering private practice where I worked alongside a physician who became my mentor, teacher and best friend. I wouldn’t be the clinician I am today without this doctor. He took me under his wing and encouraged me to pursue my post-graduate certification as an adult nurse practitioner, which I received in 2002.

Q: How do you feel winning this award will impact your future professional endeavors?

A: Honestly, I just want to keep doing what I’m doing and get better at it every day. I love to teach and I especially enjoy working with new nurse practitioners. I’m working with my colleagues right now on developing a fellowship program, and I have students with me all the time – at least two per semester. I really want to continue precepting and teaching to share what I view as clinical excellence with others and help propel clinical nursing excellence to the next generation of professional nurses.