Jean Rose: OSF Stroke Network/Illinois Neurological Institute
There are approximately 1,500 certified neuroscience registered nurses (CNRN) in the country, and within that pool, Jean Rose of OSF Saint Francis Medical Center recently was named CNRN of the Year, a national award presented for the first time in April.
The award is evidence of the quality of health care professionals working in the Peoria area and a career high for Rose, who said she’s wanted to be a nurse for as long as she can remember. “I had two aunts who were nurses and other family friends in the profession. And of course I was exposed to the TV version of nurses in shows like Marcus Welby. The calm, reassuring professional in the starched white uniform who could one minute be gentle and bandage a scraped knee and the next minute be tough as nails as an advocate for someone in need was what I wanted to be,” she said.
Originally from Ottawa, Rose attended St. Francis Grade School and received basic nursing education through Saint Francis Hospital School of Nursing. She received her bachelor’s degree from the College of St. Francis in Joliet and her master’s degree from the same institution. By the time she began her professional nursing employment at Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria in 1982, Rose noticed a pattern. “It seems like I’ve had an association with St. Francis institutions of one form or another all of my life.”
As a volunteer at Community Hospital of Ottawa during high school, Rose became interested in pediatrics and thought she’d specialize in pediatric nursing. “I quickly learned during my pediatric rotations in nursing school, however, that pediatrics wasn’t going to be my niche,” she said.
Instead, neuroscience captured her attention. “In high school I was diagnosed with scoliosis; I had to undergo a spinal fusion with rod insertion and be immobilized in a body cast for eight months. That was my introduction to neurosciences. During my senior year of nursing school I did an elective in neuro and spent time with the neurosurgeons at Saint Francis and on the spine service at Rush Presbyterian in Chicago. That confirmed that neuroscience nursing would be my niche,” Rose said.
She said the neuroscience field is fascinating to her, and no two days—or patients—are ever the same. “Neuroscience patients are the most challenging; you have to know all of the body systems to effectively care for them. Brain tumors, broken necks, strokes, and head injuries may appear on the surface to be a depressing group of diagnoses with limited prognoses, but that’s wrong. There’s so much that can be done to treat such patients and allow them and their families to have productive, long lives. As the OSF commercials indicate, there are miracles in medicine, and I participate in these miracles on a regular basis.”
As associate director of the OSF Stroke Network (SN) and director of development for the Illinois Neurological Institute (INI), Rose’s days are now filled with more administrative tasks than direct, hands-on, clinical work, which is a change for her. “I still have strong ties on the clinical units, though, and I’m involved daily with the interdisciplinary team and review all patients in service to facilitate their plan of care and movement through the continuum in a timely manner,” she said.
Rose also oversees the neuroscience research staff. “In addition to the clinical pharmacological studies, we’re collaborating with the Centers for Disease Control on the Paul Coverdell stroke registry prototype development and with the American Academy of Neurology Stroke Process Improvement Network program,” she said.
She was involved in the development of the infrastructure of the OSF Stroke Network, which was established in 1997. “I feel through my role with the Stroke Network I’ve had the opportunity to truly make a difference in the lives of people living within the Network’s member communities. There’s increased awareness of the warning signs of strokes, both professionally and by the public,” she said.
The INI at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center provides people in the Midwest with state-of-the-art neuroscience diagnostic and treatment services in an environment that includes research, teaching, and tertiary care medicine, Rose said. “Neurologists and neurosurgeons are available 24 hours a day to provide care for adult and pediatric patients. The INI developed a large neurological critical care unit, and as the INI units were developed, a large cadre of specialized nurses and technicians have been trained to provide the critically important nursing and technical care required.”
With all of these job requirements and responsibilities, it’s no wonder Rose was named CNRN of the Year. “This award is the highest compliment I could receive from my specialty nursing peer group for the activities and professional contributions I’ve made to the field. I feel truly honored to be the first recipient of such an award. There are many nurse leaders in the realm of neuroscience that I’ve respected and tried to emulate as I’ve grown professionally. Receiving acknowledgement from them is just the best,” she said.
Rose said if not for the supportive environment at OSF, she may never have received the award. “OSF Saint Francis Medical Center has recognized the importance of the neurosciences and has been a leader for many years. Research, development of the OSF Stroke Network, and education all take time—and take nurses away from direct care. But participation in such things takes your program to the next level. OSF leadership has acknowledged that and supported the endeavors. To OSF, this award is national recognition of the quality of staff and the programs involved in the delivery of neuroscience care.”
For Rose, though, the award is just one more confirmation that she made the right career decision all those years ago while watching Marcus Welby. “I really love being a nurse. A nurse touches lives in a way no other health care provider does. I’m challenged to grow all the time. There are many opportunities as a nurse, and with my current position, I have the chance to partake in them all. I’ve also been able to make a difference in the lives of people and improve health care in central Illinois. That’s an awesome thing to reflect on.” TPW
The award is evidence of the quality of health care professionals working in the Peoria area and a career high for Rose, who said she’s wanted to be a nurse for as long as she can remember. “I had two aunts who were nurses and other family friends in the profession. And of course I was exposed to the TV version of nurses in shows like Marcus Welby. The calm, reassuring professional in the starched white uniform who could one minute be gentle and bandage a scraped knee and the next minute be tough as nails as an advocate for someone in need was what I wanted to be,” she said.
Originally from Ottawa, Rose attended St. Francis Grade School and received basic nursing education through Saint Francis Hospital School of Nursing. She received her bachelor’s degree from the College of St. Francis in Joliet and her master’s degree from the same institution. By the time she began her professional nursing employment at Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria in 1982, Rose noticed a pattern. “It seems like I’ve had an association with St. Francis institutions of one form or another all of my life.”
As a volunteer at Community Hospital of Ottawa during high school, Rose became interested in pediatrics and thought she’d specialize in pediatric nursing. “I quickly learned during my pediatric rotations in nursing school, however, that pediatrics wasn’t going to be my niche,” she said.
Instead, neuroscience captured her attention. “In high school I was diagnosed with scoliosis; I had to undergo a spinal fusion with rod insertion and be immobilized in a body cast for eight months. That was my introduction to neurosciences. During my senior year of nursing school I did an elective in neuro and spent time with the neurosurgeons at Saint Francis and on the spine service at Rush Presbyterian in Chicago. That confirmed that neuroscience nursing would be my niche,” Rose said.
She said the neuroscience field is fascinating to her, and no two days—or patients—are ever the same. “Neuroscience patients are the most challenging; you have to know all of the body systems to effectively care for them. Brain tumors, broken necks, strokes, and head injuries may appear on the surface to be a depressing group of diagnoses with limited prognoses, but that’s wrong. There’s so much that can be done to treat such patients and allow them and their families to have productive, long lives. As the OSF commercials indicate, there are miracles in medicine, and I participate in these miracles on a regular basis.”
As associate director of the OSF Stroke Network (SN) and director of development for the Illinois Neurological Institute (INI), Rose’s days are now filled with more administrative tasks than direct, hands-on, clinical work, which is a change for her. “I still have strong ties on the clinical units, though, and I’m involved daily with the interdisciplinary team and review all patients in service to facilitate their plan of care and movement through the continuum in a timely manner,” she said.
Rose also oversees the neuroscience research staff. “In addition to the clinical pharmacological studies, we’re collaborating with the Centers for Disease Control on the Paul Coverdell stroke registry prototype development and with the American Academy of Neurology Stroke Process Improvement Network program,” she said.
She was involved in the development of the infrastructure of the OSF Stroke Network, which was established in 1997. “I feel through my role with the Stroke Network I’ve had the opportunity to truly make a difference in the lives of people living within the Network’s member communities. There’s increased awareness of the warning signs of strokes, both professionally and by the public,” she said.
The INI at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center provides people in the Midwest with state-of-the-art neuroscience diagnostic and treatment services in an environment that includes research, teaching, and tertiary care medicine, Rose said. “Neurologists and neurosurgeons are available 24 hours a day to provide care for adult and pediatric patients. The INI developed a large neurological critical care unit, and as the INI units were developed, a large cadre of specialized nurses and technicians have been trained to provide the critically important nursing and technical care required.”
With all of these job requirements and responsibilities, it’s no wonder Rose was named CNRN of the Year. “This award is the highest compliment I could receive from my specialty nursing peer group for the activities and professional contributions I’ve made to the field. I feel truly honored to be the first recipient of such an award. There are many nurse leaders in the realm of neuroscience that I’ve respected and tried to emulate as I’ve grown professionally. Receiving acknowledgement from them is just the best,” she said.
Rose said if not for the supportive environment at OSF, she may never have received the award. “OSF Saint Francis Medical Center has recognized the importance of the neurosciences and has been a leader for many years. Research, development of the OSF Stroke Network, and education all take time—and take nurses away from direct care. But participation in such things takes your program to the next level. OSF leadership has acknowledged that and supported the endeavors. To OSF, this award is national recognition of the quality of staff and the programs involved in the delivery of neuroscience care.”
For Rose, though, the award is just one more confirmation that she made the right career decision all those years ago while watching Marcus Welby. “I really love being a nurse. A nurse touches lives in a way no other health care provider does. I’m challenged to grow all the time. There are many opportunities as a nurse, and with my current position, I have the chance to partake in them all. I’ve also been able to make a difference in the lives of people and improve health care in central Illinois. That’s an awesome thing to reflect on.” TPW