Claudia Miller

I have been a physician for more than 2 decades and worked in multiple institutions.  I have had the honor of working with about as many good and dedicated nurses as you can imagine.  Without any hesitation I can say that Claudia Miller is the single best nurse I have ever worked with.

She is the Thoracic Oncology Clinical Coordinator at Hollings Cancer Center.  Her job is to triage patients to one of 6 physicians depending where they most appropriately fit.  She then retrieves all of their information, scans, biopsies, etc from outlying hospitals and clinics.  This is put into a packet and appropriate referrals are made.  It may seem easy but when you are dealing with multiple physicians from different subspecialties and complicated patients it can be a real challenge.  Most of the time it is a patient being told they have or may have cancer.  They are afraid and confused and often need to travel from great distances.

Claudia is their lifeline and I can't tell you how many patients have wanted to meet her to say thanks and give her a hug.  The physicians of this multidisciplinary clinic are uniformly agreed as to one thing.  The clinic could not be successful without her.

In addition to her regular duties, Claudia has organized a survivor night for lung cancer patients once per year.  It has grown to the point that we have more than 100 survivors along with staff and physicians attending.  She has gotten food donated, people to play piano, survivor artwork displayed, etc.  She does much of this on her own time.  That dinner has become quite an event and both the patients and their doctors enjoy seeing each other in a happier setting.

Need more proof?  The thoracic oncology clinic has received the highest patient satisfaction award on campus at least 6 times in the previous 4-5 years. While I would like to take some credit I know that it is Claudia's tireless efforts that make us all look good.

In summary, Claudia Miller is a phenomenal nurse, a strong patient advocate and an all around spectacular employee.  I hope you will give her every consideration for this honor.  I can think of no one who deserves it more.