Collin Shandy

My goal as a healthcare professional is to provide the highest quality care to my patients and community. I believe that attending the University of Kansas Medical Center and graduating as an Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner will strengthen my clinical knowledge, leadership skills, and ability to care for critically ill patients. I plan to continue practicing in the inpatient setting, where I can provide patient-centered care that improves outcomes for patients and their families. I am confident this next step will help me grow as a clinician and make a meaningful impact on those I serve.

• Basic Life Support - Exp: 01/2028, eCard Code: 261269218389
• Advanced Cardiac Life Support - Exp: 03/31/2027, eCard Code: u7ralcwy39ytsqtshtshvnbc
• Registered Nurse KS (Multi-State) - Exp: 10/31/2026

I have served as a preceptor for seven student nurses, new graduate nurses, and experienced nurses transitioning into new roles. Serving as a preceptor has helped me grow both personally and professionally by strengthening my leadership, mentorship, patience, empathy, and delegation skills. These experiences have reinforced my passion for supporting and teaching others while continuing to grow as a clinician myself. This role has also shown me how meaningful mentorship can be in helping nurses build confidence and provide safe, high-quality patient care.

One area of interest I have encountered while working in the ICU is the use of sedative medications in mechanically ventilated patients. I have witnessed the challenges that proceed when weaning sedation and performing spontaneous breathing trials (SBTs). Some patients become increasingly agitated and ventilator compliance falters leading to failed SBTs and delayed extubation. Although peer-review research supports lighter sedation methods during the weaning process, I have observed that clinical practice often falls behind current evidence. Vollbrecht and Patel (2025), in Management of Sedation During Weaning From Mechanical Ventilation, discuss this challenge and acknowledge the limited implementation of such practices in the clinical setting. As a future APRN, I hope to advocate for evidence-based sedation practices that reduce unnecessary durations of mechanical ventilation and ultimately decrease ICU length of stay.

Reference

Vollbrecht, H., & Patel, B. K. (2025). Management of sedation during weaning from mechanical ventilation. Current opinion in critical care, 31(1), 78–85. https://doi.org/10.1097/MCC.0000000000001226