amber johnson 2016, BSN, RN

One day, the ED was hit with multiple priority patients. Amber was the triage nurse and took the role as a leader in this chaotic scene. The ER is small with limited resources, yet she used her triage skills to effectively care for every patient. When I arrived as an extra nurse, she quickly was able to tell me what patients needed a nurse, why they were here, and what tasks were left to do. The other 2 nurses were tied up with priority 1 patients, leaving only Amber to assess and care for the rest of the department. She remained in contact with the house supervisor and was able to help facilitate transfers. Her communication skills with the patients waiting to be seen as well as the scared family members in the waiting room were calm and caring. And when another critical patient presented when all the rooms were full, and all the nurses were busy, she acted fast to intervene with life-saving methods.