Clarissa Mecija

I have had the privilege of working with Clarissa for the past four years and only have positive remarks to share.  Clarissa serves as a role model to others in the unit by sharing with her co workers her observations of their behaviors in regards to different situations that occur; because Clarissa is so well respected by her staff they receive her feedback and comments openly and they look at them as a gift in that she cares about them and wants the staff “to do better”.  She knows how important customer service is to our organization.  She constantly reflects issues and situations on how the staff should handle themselves so that the unit along with her collogues can “be the best”.  Clarissa also displays excellent clinical skills she is our number one resource when a patient needs to be placed on CRRT treatment. 

Clarissa has been asked to leave a class when assisting in teaching a class at Seton Hall early so that she could assist in placing a patient on this machine.  She has assisted both physicians and pharmacists with the orders so that treatment can be started.  She has even been called on her day off for assistance with this procedure.  The staff has shared that when Clarissa is working they feel very fortunate because she is an excellent clinical resource to them.  She assist staff as well as providing teaching and education to them.  When the unit has new hire orientees Clarissa utilizes her years of experience in teaching them so that they could succeed in the unit. 

She demonstrates compassionate care to both families/patients.  She displays a calm professional approach to situations.  She keeps the director informed of issues and provides appropriate problem-solving skills when required.  The physicians have a great respect for Clarissa and feel comfortable in sharing with her their concerns/problems.  Recently a physician involved Clarissa with a concern and she appropriately took it up the chain of command.  She strives to make the unit the best. 

She recently was involved in the new IV pump conversion as a “super user”.  She teaches ACLS for the Education Dept. because of her clinical expertise and teaching knowledge is frequently asked to teach classes with various in-services and competency testing.  The director of the unit frequently asks Clarissa’s advice and opinion on different issues, one being the revision of the restraints form, the unit flow sheet, and various policies.  Clarissa was instrumental when the Open heart forms were revised.  She takes the time to provide the best feedback no matter what the circumstance.  Because CCU is a high stress level unit along with having various life threatening situations she provides strong compassionate care to families and patients. 

We recently transferred a patient to UCLA for a liver transplant and she along with the team assisted in getting the patient to his new location in one day without a “hitch” in the process.  Clarissa works with all disciplines with her strong work ethic and excellent interpersonal skills these types of events occur smoothly when Clarissa is working.  She cares about the unit and the hospital and frequently suggests ways of improving systems, forms, or processes.  I feel that Clarissa would be an outstanding representative of the DAISY Award.