November 16, 2016

To whom it may concern:

As an assistant professor, I had the pleasure of working with Rachel Gross during her N-214:
Health Across the Lifespan: Adults I course; as well as her N414: Leadership and Management
in Nursing class. N214 is the first of three medical-surgical courses offered at Shenandoah
University. Our clinical rotation was on 3 East at Winchester Medical Center, which is a
medical telemetry floor. Rachel took care of a patient each week, increasing her communication
skills, passing medications, and performing interventions for the patient.
Ms. Gross is an excellent team player, always willing to help out during clinical. She
demonstrated a great deal of growth during the clinical experience, both in the clinical setting
and in her comprehensive care plan. Ms. Gross would seek assistance from peers, her primary
nurse or me, as appropriate for the task. She was receptive to feedback while learning new
processes or being reminded of proper techniques. She was punctual for clinical and interacted
well with her peers and patients. Her critical thinking was seen through her weekly discussion of
the patients admitting diagnosis in relation to the patients past medical history.
In N-414, Rachel worked in a small group throughout the semester on a performance
improvement paper, and two class presentations. Her groups two topics were translating
research into practice and reducing surgical site infections. Through this class, Rachel has seen
the value of teamwork in solving issues that face nursing today.
With respect to her position as a nurse in your institution, I highly recommend Rachel Gross.
She will be an asset to the organization and unit team.
Sincerely,

Therese M. Collins, MS, RN, CNE

Assistant Professor of Nursing
Course Coordinator N-214 and N-414
tcollins4@su.edu
540-665-5498 (o)
540-336-3636 (c)

su.edu /nurse

1460 University Drive Winchester, VA 22601 Phone (540) 678-4374 Fax (540) 665-5519

su.edu /nurse

1460 University Drive Winchester, VA 22601 Phone (540) 678-4374 Fax (540) 665-5519