Laura Goodfellow Case Study

A leadership interview was conducted with Laura Goodfellow in reference to her leadership position and her personal take on leadership. Laura Goodfellow is the nurse navigator for the orthopedic unit at Saint Mary’s Hospital. She also acts as a liaison for River Valley Orthopedics and the hospital. Laura is the first orthopedic nurse navigator for Saint Mary’s Hospital and has developed and transformed the position into a well respected leadership position.
As the nurse navigator, Laura oversees the education of perspective orthopedic patients receiving elective total joint surgeries. She provides mandatory patient education classes prior to surgery being scheduled. The education is not limited to patients, but extends to hospital staff training and education for those who will be caring for the patients during and after their surgeries. In addition to education the nurse navigator follows up with patients during his or her hospital stay and calls them the next business day after he/she is discharged. She takes on many roles as a navigator that extends beyond orthopedic education.
Laura described herself as a visionary and always up for a challenge. She stated that those qualities lead her to take on the challenge of not only accepting …show more content…
Her description and traits of a good leader is someone who is accountable, approachable, someone who reaches out to employees and one who is fair, but knows when to be firm and decisive. These are traits Laura puts into practice and does her best to emulate as a nurse leader. Traits and characteristics she associates with poor leadership are having a lack of respect for staff and co-workers, lack of follow through, and holding staff to different standards. Laura said she takes her role seriously and puts her best effort forward to be a great and respectable