Gerdline Kelley
June 2024
Gerdline
Kelley
,
RN
Acute Oncology
University of Virginia Health
Charlottesville
,
VA
United States
As this patient has transitioned toward comfort care, Gerdline has been a loving and strong force for the patient and his significant other. Gerdline's commitment to making this transition as smooth, loving, and graceful as possible is inspiring to behold.
It is indeed a great pleasure to write a DAISY nomination for Gerdline Kelley, one of the nurses I admire most. Her commitment to providing excellent care in all its many facets is constantly on display, but Gerdline really shines with complicated patients. She goes the extra mile, time and again, and provides the most amazing and thoughtful psychosocial care. She often has deep conversations with patients at 3 am and really delves into how she can help put them most at ease in the midst of great challenges on the Stem Cell Transplant and oncology units. She often learns things that no other nurse knows, and her insights and perspective can often help the whole team improve care for these patients.
My coworker and I are nominating Gerdline specifically now for her exceptional care of a patient whom we have been supporting in his attempt to make it to CAR-T therapy for his relapsed acute leukemia. This patient is very ill, with constant fevers of 39.4 to 40 C. He requires nearly constant care, and even though Gerdline has had this patient four shifts in a row, she has asked to have him again. This patient has expressed fears about dying, something that is possibly quite imminent, and Gerdline has gone out of her way to field the patient's questions and help put him more at ease. She has also given him warm bed baths to help him feel more clean, relaxed, and comfortable. In nursing school one professor used to repeatedly say we should be providing "exquisite care." That term seemed odd to me at the time, but as I witness Gerdline's extraordinary nursing care, I see that she truly exemplifies exquisite care.
As this patient has transitioned toward comfort care, Gerdline has been a loving and strong force for the patient and his significant other. Gerdline's commitment to making this transition as smooth, loving, and graceful as possible is inspiring to behold.
Gerdline is very much the heart and soul of the Stem Cell Transplant unit, and our patients are very fortunate to be showered by her compassion and nurtured by her expert care. She is an amazing preceptor who teaches the importance of both critical thinking and ensuring that all aspects of care are carefully addressed. We could not miss this opportunity to celebrate Gerdline's steadfast commitment to this dear patient and to all patients on both our units. We are blessed to have her.
My coworker and I are nominating Gerdline specifically now for her exceptional care of a patient whom we have been supporting in his attempt to make it to CAR-T therapy for his relapsed acute leukemia. This patient is very ill, with constant fevers of 39.4 to 40 C. He requires nearly constant care, and even though Gerdline has had this patient four shifts in a row, she has asked to have him again. This patient has expressed fears about dying, something that is possibly quite imminent, and Gerdline has gone out of her way to field the patient's questions and help put him more at ease. She has also given him warm bed baths to help him feel more clean, relaxed, and comfortable. In nursing school one professor used to repeatedly say we should be providing "exquisite care." That term seemed odd to me at the time, but as I witness Gerdline's extraordinary nursing care, I see that she truly exemplifies exquisite care.
As this patient has transitioned toward comfort care, Gerdline has been a loving and strong force for the patient and his significant other. Gerdline's commitment to making this transition as smooth, loving, and graceful as possible is inspiring to behold.
Gerdline is very much the heart and soul of the Stem Cell Transplant unit, and our patients are very fortunate to be showered by her compassion and nurtured by her expert care. She is an amazing preceptor who teaches the importance of both critical thinking and ensuring that all aspects of care are carefully addressed. We could not miss this opportunity to celebrate Gerdline's steadfast commitment to this dear patient and to all patients on both our units. We are blessed to have her.