alexandria burnett schneider, BSN, RN

Alexandria "Dee" goes above and beyond every shift to put patients and families first. She has always been known to go the extra mile to make a difference for families. One night in particular I noticed this first hand. Dee was assigned to a patient whose family had decided to withdraw care in the coming days. It was about 3 am and I walked back to her bedspace to ask her a question when I found her sitting inside the dark room all by herself with the infant patient. As I walked in, all I could hear was Dee's voice singing "twinkle, twinkle, little star..." The little girl's family had to step away from the bedspace for a minute and Dee went in to hold her hand so she would not be alone. As the patient was laying there wide awake, Dee was soothing her back to sleep making sure she was the most comfortable she could be. (Might I add, she knocked "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" out of the ballpark!)
To me, that shows the utmost respect. A family, who was going through a very devastating time, who were only insured minimal time left with their child, trusted Dee enough to step away for a moment, knowing Dee would not leave their daughter alone. The next night, Dee arrived back to her bedspace with crocheted booties and headbands for the little girl. The family had arranged for professional portraits to be taken in the morning, and Dee made sure that she would have a "cute" outfit to wear in them. Those pictures may be the most important remembrance to that family in years to come and Dee made sure they were going to turn out perfect. That is what pediatric nursing is all about. Dee does more than justprovide medical care to these kids, she provides love and compassion on a whole other level to both them and their families.