February 6, 2020

Donna Bashwiner, RN

Donna Bashwiner

Nursing has afforded me the privilege of never being bored! I began my career just as health care was changing its emphasis on the delivery of service in the inpatient setting to more out-patient and home care settings. This change was very much in tune with my work style preferences and nursing skills. As a result, my clinicalexperience was heavily weighted in the delivery of care in these settings. Working in these settings allowed me to connect with patients where they “lived”, perform teaching, and collaborate with other caregivers to meet the patient’s total needs.

The blending of these functions in a job made every day an exciting challenge. As
my career progressed and I obtained an advanced degree, I entered into more administrative field of work. In nursing administration, I consistently worked for non-profit hospitals or organizations that incorporated the meeting of the patient’s needs as a pillar in their mission. Again as health care went through more changes, Idiscovered a field that quickly became my passion for many years and that was Quality Improvement. Now that I want to work part-time, I have come full circle. I am back in a home care setting collaborating with caregivers and performing teaching to ensure the clients receive the best possible care in a homelike setting. This is
what I love the most about working for IITRN. The clients, the caregivers, and the office staff I work with are all wonderful human beings and excellent at what they do.

When I make a visit to a home, I look at the caregivers with admiration for doing the amazing work of being a caregiver. At the same time, I see in the face ofevery client a human being who deserves the best possible care that can be given to them in this stage of their life’s journey. I feel it is an absolute privilege to serve on this great team of IITRN and to serve our community in this manner.