Nurse of Excellence

Ashley Charles Bleich, RN

A pleasure to meet you, Charles! How are you spending your summer thus far?

Hey all, I am so pleasantly surprised and honored to be chosen as the Nurse of Excellence with White Glove! June and July are months when staff nurses get their wings to take their vacations. This creates a severe staffing shortage in the unit. As an agency nurse, I felt it is right to help fill in the gaps. My summer has been a long stretch of overtime, rounding up more than twenty shifts in the month. Atypical, I would work approximately twelve shifts. I received an award from the hospital for administering the most medications in June, more than any other nurse in the entire hospital!

Don’t feel bad for me though, I have an exciting trip to Brazil scheduled for the end of August, with my wife, Luiza, celebrating her 30th Birthday! Luiza’s parents live in Brazil along with most of her extended family. We have been to Brazil before, yet it will be our first trip traveling in a group with a whole bunch of family friends!

For the first half of the trip, we are staying together as a group in a luxury Airbnb mansion just blocks from the sunny beach. Then, we are planning to continue our sightseeing on a cruise hopping to several islands. We are looking forward to celebrating Luiza’s birthday on one of the days there with the full extended family!

Please share something in nursing you are very passionate about.

I have worked with Psyche patients ever since I launched my RN career. I strongly believe in destigmatizing mental health. Treating addiction, depression, or other mental issues is only one aspect of recovery. We must teach patients life skills to help patients reintegrate into society once they have been treated.

Are there aspects of the job you find challenging?

Negative outcomes are sometimes inevitable. It is difficult to create that perfect disconnect with your patient to avoid the emotional toll it can make on your body.

What are some future goals you have for your career?

I recently went back to school for my NP, striving to have my practice several years from now. My goal is to change the lives of even more folks.

How do you unwind after work to keep a healthy work-life balance?

It is important to be active and exercise when you work those long shifts. I exercise at the gym nearly every day. The weekend is my optimal recharge. I love spending time at Harriman State Park, which has very intricate hiking trails to gear up and get moving!

My very absolute favorite is playing music. I can play several instruments, but my drum is a clear winner to give energy out along with every beat! We recently arranged a small band with more nurses on the unit, something I am greatly looking forward to!

Any message you would like to impart to more nurses?

We do great things every day! Let us keep going!

A sincere thanks to White Glove for helping us make it happen!