Amanda is the type of nurse everyone should strive to be. She truly cares for her patients and goes above her daily work tasks. An example of this: Amanda and her orientee were caring for an elderly woman who had a multitude of co-morbidities. This woman was extremely ill. She had multiple conversations with her physicians regarding the patient's plan of care. The patient had 3 children with one getting all the information. One of the other children came in very angry at the information given to him. He was at the desk yelling at the physician on the phone. When he was finished, she was very calm and spoke to the son to try to get an understanding of why he was angry. After listening to him, she empathized with him and expressed to him that she would try and help them work through this by bringing in the palliative nurse. She explained in detail why palliative would be helpful. She planned a family meeting with all the children and the palliative, which she also attended. Prior to the meeting, she found out what the patient wanted, which was everything. By finding this out she was able to understand the frustration of the family.
This may seem like it's just part of her job, but she went above here, she does this every day. She makes sure her patients have what they need and takes time to talk to them, listen to them and get to know them, which is the heart of nursing and is becoming lost. Amanda is not only like this with her patients, but she is also like this with her co-workers and others who she interacts with. She offers to help with difficult situations that others stay away from. She always explains things to her co-workers/aids so they understand why she's doing what she does. (She also does this as a preceptor, which she is AWESOME at.) One of the best things about her is that she treats everyone as equal regardless of their job title. Again, this may seem like it's a normal part of the job, but it really isn't anymore.
Amanda truly encompasses the passion, compassion, and knowledge that is needed to be a nurse. She gives 100% to make sure her patients, families, and co-workers are cared for and never makes them feel as if they are bothering her or being annoying. She is a true DAISY Nurse. I'd also like to mention that these examples are things I hear while sitting in my office and see when I'm rounding. She does it without an audience!