Critical care units at St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center in Syracuse, New York, were faced with a formidable task. They had applied to receive the Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence, a distinction given only to the top intensive care units in the United States. One of the components on which they would be judged was how they assessed patients’ pain levels in a critical care environment, and that’s where they hit a snag—until a nursing student stepped in.

“The staff and I were measuring pain levels using a tool that was outdated and not suited to ICU work,” says Christopher Kowal, who in addition to being a full-time staff nurse, was pursuing a master’s degree in Science Nursing Education at American Sentinel University.

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