My interactions with a nurse on Tower 4 over the last 5 years compelled me to nominate her. Andee Tompkins has been an integral member of the ortho/trauma service patient care. It seems she is always assigned the most complex patients with the most severe injuries, and always provides excellent care and emotional support for out patients.

Although every patient she cares for gets the best nursing care, I remember a specific patient that had a very severe ankle injury requiring multiple surgeries. Additionally this patient had a history of depression and anxiety. Andee took care of the patient for her entire stay. In my years as an ortho resident I had not seen a more complex combination of physical injuries, social issues and emotional problems in a patient. Andee was the perfect person to care for her. As the resident for this patient, I had many long conversations with Andee about ways to connect to this patient and how to help with the physical and emotional problems that were being caused by her complicated ankle fractures. Andee spent countless hours dedicating herself to educating the patient about her care, prognosis, and ways to cope. It didn't take long to see that Andee had become more than just a caregiver for our patient, she had become a beacon of hope to a patient who normally felt hopeless. While many other healthcare team members felt this patient was too difficult to interact with, Andee met the challenge by gaining her patient's trust and helping her recover each day.

It was not long before members of the health care team caring for the patient began to notice major changes in the patient's outlook. The injury originally thought to be disabling to her, became a small obstacle in a road to full recovery. The patient attributed her transformation to Andee Tompkins. I truly believe that it is only with the great care provided by Andee that this patient was eventually able to go home. In addition to delivering care on the floor, Andee took the time to talk with me about the possible complications of her patient's injury and how the recovery process would be for this patient. By taking time to understand the injury, Andee became a source of constant information and assistance to the patient, and to the orthopedic physicians caring for her.

Andee is the best nurse that I have ever worked with. This example is only one of the hundreds I could write about her. I know she is more than worthy of being a recipient of the DAISY Award for extraordinary nurses. Nathan Tiedeken, M.D., Orthopaedic Chief Resident