“Irma is an exemplary example of what it means to be a motivated, driven, humble and supportive mentor. She continuously goes out of her way to help others, peers and patients alike,” said Elizabeth Scriven, BSN, RN, GERO-BC. “She was my mentor and has pushed our entire department towards success and stability. I am so grateful for her endless encouragement and support that has allowed me to become a better nurse, educator and individual.”
Irma Gomez, RN MSN-Ed, NPD-BC, is the Nursing Professional Development Specialist for Kaiser Permanente East Bay and a 9-year Kaiser Permanente employee. She was named a 2024 Northern California Extraordinary Nurse for Nursing Professional Development.
Inspiration for Nursing
When Irma was a young adult, her father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and was in and out of the hospital for cancer treatment. “It was during one of those visits that I met this amazing nurse,” shared Gomez.
That nurse recognized how stressed her family was because of the illness, and the financial burden that it was causing. “She was amazing and found us resources was able to help get a lot of those medical bills waived,” added Gomez.
“It had a huge impact on my family, and I thought, I want to be like her. I want to be able to help people and not just at the bedside, but in all these other aspects as well,” she said.
Leading with Purpose
In her role as an NPD specialist, Gomez gets to impact nursing in different ways and is intentional in her communication. “Working with nurse colleagues, teaching, mentoring, and guiding them, I see the impact flow over into the care that they provide for their patients,” she said.
“I always thought I’d be at bedside, as it was so rewarding seeing patients get better or being there with them in their final moments,” Gomez said.
“When I first started in the Nursing Professional Development Department, I was fresh from bedside nursing and was struggling to find my place in the education world,” said Scriven, who nominated Irma for the Extraordinary Nurse honor. “With Irma’s help, I began to grasp my intention in this new role.”
Delivering Care Excellence
Gomez reflected on a Code Blue program her team created to assist care teams in their response to the code.
“They were complimentary of how well the nurses responded and managed a code overnight,” said Gomez regarding a call she received from a Patient Care Services director. “It was that moment that made me realize that what I do really does have an impact.”
“I’m not at the bedside anymore, but the work that I do, and all of us educators do, has such a profound impact on our patients. What we do touches the hands of the nurses delivering bedside care.”