Amanda is remarkable new nurse. As the manager of the emergency department, I have had the distinct pleasure to watch her nursing career from her senior practicum in our department to her residency training to her work now as an equal and outstanding team member. Amanda has been exceptional in every phase of her nursing career to date and I only expect that to continue.

It was evident that Amanda was a rising star early on when as a new nurse, like many of us she made a medication error. Instead of worrying who to tell and what to do, when she realized what had happened she immediately focused on and assessed her patient. She then went to the physician and reported her patient's condition, what had happened and asked if there needed to be further intervention. She continued to monitor her patient appropriately. At the appropriate time she completed the required documentation, debriefed with her charge nurse and preceptor and finished her shift. What was also striking about this case was that as her manager, I learned of this situation from the attending physician who came to tell me what a fabulous nurse she was going to be and how excited he was to have her join our team. He was impressed by her composure, her attention to the patient, her clear and concise report and inquiry about remedy. In that one instance which could have been an very unfortunate experience, Amanda was a shining star.

To follow-up on this Amanda went on to share her mistake with other members of her team. She did her own root cause analysis and offered suggestions to ensure it would not happen again. We were able to implement her suggestions and now have a much safer methodology and option for medication administration. When you mention this to Amanda, she really doesn't believe this was her doing, "she was just doing what she thought was her job." Amanda thinks she is just doing her job, but she is above and beyond an extraordinary nurse. A continual and fast learner, a fierce team mate, a systems thinker, and she is eager for more.

During her senior practicum as a student, Amanda was able to join our shared leadership team on a number of occasions and I was extremely excited when she asked if she could join the shared leadership team as a new member when she started as a new nurse. She has been a dedicated, thoughtful, hardworking participant on the team and has led a sub-team focused on the patient experience. She implemented a project of whiteboards in the patient's rooms, which included creating a template for the information and set-up of the boards, contacting and ordering with the vendor, the scripting and education for all staff members, and the follow-up and evaluation of the project. She has also been greatly involved and supportive of our Post Visit Follow-Up Calls program. She has directed the technical aspects and educated staff and she works additional shifts to complete the calls.

This year our department has been awarded the Guardian of Excellence Award by Press Ganey. This award is given to a department that has maintained 95th percentile or higher in patient satisfaction for a 12 month period. Amanda will be going to Florida with the other member of her sub-team to receive our award since she has been so instrumental in ensuring a great patient experience not just for her patients, but for every patient.

In addition to her thoughtfulness, leadership and action she continues to grow clinically. She seeks out learning opportunities and asks great questions that inspire and make her co-workers think more. She has recently achieved certification in emergency nursing, and is on the hospital based team to lead our journey for national recognition of nursing excellence. I can't think of a better nurse to be involved in this effort. She has a lot to contribute and is a great asset to the team.

Amanda truly is an incredibly knowledgeable, skillful, thoughtful and dedicated nurse who is a rising star in the nursing profession.