We’re excited to share a spotlight of Rachel Mastellone, MSN, RN, MEDSURG-BC, a Nurse Manager at Hackensack Meridian Health!
- How long have you been in Nursing, and what are your favorite parts about it?
I became a nurse in August 2017 as a new grad nurse resident at Riverview Medical Center. I was then an oncology nurse, and became the assistant nurse manager on that same unit in January of 2020. I then became the nurse manager of med surg in September of 2023 when I still currently work. My favorite part of nursing is getting to make a difference in the lives of patients and their families while also working to promote nursing excellence in my organization.
- What are your favorite parts of leading a team of nurses?
My favorite part of being a leader is getting to be a cheerleader for my team and helping to encourage and grow the next generation of new nurses & nurse leaders. Seeing others succeed is what brings me the most joy.
- What areas has your team improved most? How do you know?
In the past year, my team has made many efforts toward greatness, we are over 3 years since the last CAUTI/CLABSI, and over 1 year since the last HAI (MRSA/C DIFF). We have decreased and maintained our amount of falls year over year. We have exceeded our goal in length of stay and discharge to home, while also increasing our HCAP overall rating from a 65.3 in 2024, to a 72.4 in 2025 which shows excellent success with all interventions we initiated this past year.
- What have you done to engage your nurses to prevent this feeling like “one more thing?”
We utilize tips and lessons learned in our everyday practice and discuss tips we feel are most helpful during staff meetings and unit huddles. I utilize these tips in my daily practice to help me overcome hurdles in my daily tasks.
- In what ways have you seen your nurses implement tips into their work?
The tips help to facilitate great listening skills and communication skills to help in difficult situations. We often deal with difficult patients or family members in our roles and these tips can help to de-escalate, and problem solve.
Nick Chicchetti is a Marketing Specialist at Practicing Excellence, specializing in developing, implementing, and analyzing marketing strategies and development of content. He brings over five years of healthcare marketing experience, and has a passion for driving change and improving experiences across the healthcare continuum.
