Initially when Aaron began his role as manager of my home unit of 6-West we got along great. A few months later however this was not the case, to make this story short, I ended up initiating a meeting with our Human Resources Department where I pretty much placed a formal complaint against him. It is safe to say that after this our manager/employee relationship became strained.
My perception of Aaron quickly changed when I began to see that he truly cares and goes above and beyond every day for his employees. This became even more apparent to me when I faced some of the toughest situations in my life. My mother's health began to dramatically decline to the point where I had to take an unexpected two-month leave of absence from work. Please keep in mind that my leave of absence from work had to begin not only immediately after my mother's hospitalization, but to make matters worse it just so happened to be right in the middle of the holiday season. Aaron never once complained or made me feel as if this situation was a burden to him or the unit. Even though I was certain that it was, you see we had one of our full-time secretaries out on vacation for the holidays. Which meant it would be up to myself and one other secretary to cover all shifts during the holiday season.
Shortly after my mother's hospitalization in 2016, I myself began to have my own health issues with anxiety. Once again Aaron became my savior, so to speak. He helped me not only as my manager in matters of scheduling and my everyday work responsibilities but also as a nurse. He talked to me about the different options I had on managing my disorder, he gave me his honest opinion as a healthcare professional and as well as a friend. He also let me know that if there was anything, he could do to help me or my family through his tough time never hesitate to ask him. He truly made me feel comfortable speaking with him about what I thought was such an embarrassing and private subject as my anxiety disorder. He became my go-to person when I needed any type of advice in dealing with not only my own health issues but also my mother's. He has truly been the most supportive, understanding and accommodating manager I have ever met.
On behalf of myself and my entire family, I just want to thank Aaron for being what the definition of a true nurse leader should be like towards their employees. He has been kind, compassionate, caring and he has always put our needs above his own. Thank you, Aaron, for your kindness, constant advice and most of all I want to think him for just being there for through some of the most difficult times of my life.