BRANDY GRUESER, BSN, RN
Canton,GA
Summary
Registered Nurse with 28 years of nursing experience, including 19 years in Level III and Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Units. Experienced neonatal clinician, charge nurse, clinical faculty member, preceptor, and quality improvement leader with a strong passion for evidence-based practice, policy development, staff education, and professional development. Skilled in neonatal stabilization, high-risk deliveries, ECMO support, post-surgical neonatal care, family education, competency support, audit review, and department-wide education initiatives. Recognized DAISY Award recipient and Atlanta Journal-Constitution Nurse Excellence Award nominee seeking a neonatal education and leadership opportunity in the Chattanooga, Tennessee area.
Overview
2027
2027
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
NEONATAL ICU, LEVEL III
Northside Hospital
Canton, GA
01.2022 - Current
- Provide comprehensive, outcome-based nursing care for critically ill neonatal patients in a Level III NICU setting including ELBW infants.
- Perform neonatal assessment, intervention, monitoring, and family education in accordance with hospital policies and evidence-based standards of care.
- Support discharge preparation by educating families on infant care, safety, feeding, and ongoing care needs.
- Precepted students, new nurses, and staff members, supporting clinical skill development and professional growth.
- Participate in unit-based quality improvement, audit review, and education initiatives to support patient safety and clinical excellence.
- Collaborate with interdisciplinary healthcare teams to promote continuity of care and positive neonatal outcomes.
- Support evidence-based neonatal care practices through clinical education, bedside coaching, and communication with families and care teams.
NEONATAL ICU, LEVEL III
Kaiser Permanente
Anaheim, CA
01.2010 - 01.2022
- Provided full-scope neonatal intensive care services for infants ranging from 22 weeks gestation to post-term.
- Attended high-risk deliveries as part of neonatal care and stabilization efforts.
- Served as Charge Nurse, supervising staff and supporting unit operations.
- Collaborated with neonatal nurses, physicians, and interdisciplinary team members to assess and provide immediate care for newborns after birth.
- Reviewed diagnostic results, laboratory data, and clinical information to support patient care and family education.
- Troubleshot and maintained NICU equipment to support safe and effective patient care.
- Supported family education, discharge preparation, and continuity of care for neonatal patients and caregivers.
NEONATAL ICU, LEVEL IV
Children's Hospital of Orange County
Orange, CA
2006 - 01.2012
- Provided advanced neonatal care in a Level IV setting.
- Managed complex neonatal patients requiring hemodynamic monitoring, ventilator support, post-operative care, and ECMO support.
- Cared for infants ranging from 22 weeks gestation to post-term.
- Administered conscious sedation and managed infants during procedures and surgical care.
- Provided bereavement services and served on the bereavement committee.
- Precepted students and new staff members in high-acuity neonatal settings.
- Provided breastfeeding assistance, parent education, and family-centered support related to infant care, nutrition, hygiene, safety, and discharge readiness.
OPERATING ROOM RN
Newport Surgery Institute
Newport Beach, CA
01.2009 - 01.2015
- Provided individualized perioperative nursing care, including planning and preparation of operating room suites.
- Evaluated quality of patient care during the perioperative period and collaborated with interdisciplinary departments.
- Provided preoperative education and lab testing.
- Circulated during surgical procedures while maintaining sterile technique and patient safety.
- Served as scrub nurse during surgical procedures.
- Recovered postoperative patients following complex surgical cases and provided postoperative education.
OR CIRCULATOR / PRE-OP / PACU NURSE
Kaiser Permanente
Irvine, CA
01.2012 - 01.2013
- Cared for patients following cardiac catheterization, cardiac surgery, thoracic surgery, and general surgery.
- Assessed, planned, implemented, evaluated, and documented patient care appropriately.
- Provided preoperative and postoperative education to patients and families.
- Administered medications and IV fluids, tracked lab values and test results, and updated physicians as appropriate.
- Supported discharge planning and maintained compliance with regulatory agencies and accrediting bodies.
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
Image Surgery Center
Huntington Beach, CA
01.2001 - 01.2004
- Secured vendor contracts and supported administrative operations for ambulatory surgical center development.
- Created flow sheets for intraoperative and PACU documentation.
- Developed logbooks required for Department of Health certification.
- Assisted in development of policy and procedure manuals for ambulatory surgical center operations.
- Supported Department of Health survey preparation and completion for licensing.
Scrub Nurse
Dr. Boris Ackerman
Newport Beach, CA
01.1999 - 01.2001
Perioperative Nurse
Dunwoody Outpatient Surgicenter
Dunwoody, GA
01.1998 - 01.1999
Education
Bachelor of Science - Nursing
Chamberlain College of Nursing
Associates Degree - Nursing
Golden West College
Skills
- 28 years of nursing experience
- 19 years of Level III and Level IV NICU experience
- Charge Nurse experience
- University of North Georgia Clinical Faculty
- Senior Practicum Preceptor
- New Graduate Nurse Preceptor
- NRP Instructor Candidate - Currently enrolled in NRP Instructor course
- STABLE, NRP, and BLS certified
- Certified Breastfeeding Counselor
- Certified Bereavement Coordinator
- Certified Passenger Safety Technician
- NICU Superuser for audits, data collection, and department education
- Staff Development
- Quality Improvement
- Evidence-Based Practice
- Policy & Procedure Development
- Data Collection & Audit Review
- NICU Discharge Education
- Safe Sleep Education
- Thermoregulation Practice Improvement
- High-Risk Delivery Attendance
- Electronic Medical Record Documentation EPIC and Cerner
Certification
- Registered Nurse — Georgia | 2021 to Present
- Registered Nurse — California | 2007 to Present
- Licensed Practical Nurse — California/Georgia | 1998 to 2007
- Tennessee RN Licensure — Eligible to obtain upon hire
- Neonatal Resuscitation Program Certification
- NRP Instructor Candidate — In Progress
- Basic Life Support Certification
- STABLE Certification
- Certified Bereavement Coordinator
- Certified Breastfeeding Counselor
- Certified Passenger Safety Technician
- Perioperative Nurse Training Program
- Healing Touch Practitioner Level I
Timeline
NEONATAL ICU, LEVEL III
Northside Hospital
01.2022 - Current
OR CIRCULATOR / PRE-OP / PACU NURSE
Kaiser Permanente
01.2012 - 01.2013
NEONATAL ICU, LEVEL III
Kaiser Permanente
01.2010 - 01.2022
OPERATING ROOM RN
Newport Surgery Institute
01.2009 - 01.2015
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
Image Surgery Center
01.2001 - 01.2004
Scrub Nurse
Dr. Boris Ackerman
01.1999 - 01.2001
Perioperative Nurse
Dunwoody Outpatient Surgicenter
01.1998 - 01.1999
NEONATAL ICU, LEVEL IV
Children's Hospital of Orange County
2006 - 01.2012
Bachelor of Science - Nursing
Chamberlain College of Nursing
Associates Degree - Nursing
Golden West College
CLINICAL EDUCATION & FACULTY EXPERIENCE
- Serve as Clinical Faculty for the University of North Georgia, supervising senior practicum nursing students and supporting clinical preceptors.
- Serve as Senior Practicum Preceptor and new graduate nurse preceptor, supporting structured orientation, clinical growth, and competency development.
- Provide extended orientation support for new graduate nurses, including orientation guidelines, supplemental literature, educational resources, and videos.
- Provide staff education based on audit findings, quality trends, evidence-based practice needs, and identified areas of concern.
- Teach NICU and postpartum staff car seat safety and angle tolerance test procedures as a Certified Passenger Safety Technician.
- Provide bereavement education through Resolve Through Sharing training, supporting staff education and certification preparation.
- Educate families on discharge readiness, infant care, breastfeeding, safe sleep, car seat safety, and ongoing neonatal care needs.
QUALITY IMPROVEMENT & EDUCATION LEADERSHIP
- Serve as a NICU Superuser, completing audits and data collection to identify areas of concern and provide department education based on findings.
- Participate in quality improvement initiatives focused on evidence-based practice, patient safety, clinical consistency, and improved neonatal outcomes.
- Helped develop a NICU discharge guideline binder and provided department education to streamline the discharge process for NICU patients and families.
- Created bedside reminder cards to support safe sleep practices according to standard guidelines and improve safe sleep audit performance.
- Served as a change agent in updating thermoregulation practices for neonatal patients to support improved clinical outcomes and reduce risk of complications.
- Support implementation of evidence-based neonatal care practices through staff education, interdisciplinary communication, and clinical follow-up.
- Promote family-centered care through education related to feeding, safe sleep, discharge planning, car seat safety, bereavement support, and specialized newborn care.
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
DAISY Award Winner, Atlanta Journal-Constitution Nurse Excellence Award Nominee