Angela Steele is one of those nurses who gives every ounce of herself on every shift to not only her patients but their families as well as her own teammates. She never forgets a face and will pop in and check up on patients both past and present to make them feel important. She is the kind of nurse who should have so many DAISY Awards that her badge reel would be so heavy from the award pins it would drag the floor. She is also the kind of nurse who wouldn’t expect any recognition for the amount of heart she puts into her daily work and would say, “I’m just doing my job.” What sets Angela apart is not just her skills as a nurse, but her innate ability to personally connect with her patients. On many occasions, Angela has gone out of her way to make sure patients feel loved. She often brings special treats for patients with specific snack request, so they feel the slightest bit of comfort while in the hospital.

Recently, Angela went above and beyond for a patient who had been in the hospital for over a year. This patient had underlying dementia and social issues that prevented him from placement. 7T became his new temporary home, and Angela ensured nothing but the best for his long-term stay. Since this patient did not have many visitors, she went out of her way to purchase underwear so they could have clean clothes and maintain some amount of personal dignity. This patient also enjoyed midnight PB&Js. Angela periodically brought in bread, peanut butter, and jelly to ensure this patient never ran out of his favorite snack. She even took home this patient's clothes and washed them on her days off to ensure they had fresh clothes to change into. At Christmas, she decorated their room with lights and decorations to make it special while the patient spent the holidays in the hospital. She truly went above and beyond to care for this patient and make them feel “right at home.” 

Angela is a champion for ensuring that those patients at end of life are treated with the dignity and comfort they deserve. A dying patient wanted one more milkshake before he passed. Angela took it upon herself to go get a milkshake after she had already left from her shift and bring this patient back his favorite milkshake. Another patient near death wanted pickle juice. While some may have brushed this off as an odd request, Angela made sure to get this patient some pickle juice. When he was unable to drink the pickle juice any longer, Angela was determined to still meet his request and made this patient pickle popsicles so that he could still enjoy his pickle juice. She has also stayed with dying patients past her shifts on countless occasions until the family was able to arrive. She has vocalized that she never wants a patient to feel alone and has taken it upon herself to put her own needs to the side to ensure these patients feel supported in death. 

Angela creates an environment where attributes of trust, compassion, mutual respect, continued professional development, and ethical behavior are modeled and supported. She motivates staff with a shared vision and enthusiasm to achieve better outcomes for patients. Not only does Angela ensure her patients feel well cared for, but she also ensures teammates feel supported and cared for as well. During her routine shopping trips, Angela is sure to pick up motivating stickers or bracelets for staff to offer a quick “thank you” or “great job.” She does not hesitate to challenge staff to step outside of their comfort zones in order to grow professionally. By providing supportive feedback and mentorship, she expertly guides younger nurses to be more engaged in order to work at their highest level of nursing expertise. Angela has been known to purchase items to host celebrations in the unit. We recently had a senior nurse of 43 years retire. At the end of this nurse’s final shift on the unit, Angela made sure the nurse had a sendoff to remember! She brought in flowers and sparkling cider for a final toast, prepared a tear-jerking speech thanking the nurse for her years of dedication, and led the ringing of the bell to symbolize the end of an amazing 43-year-long nursing career. When given a task or asked to lead staff in meeting goals, she makes it a personal mission to creatively engage teammates, provide opportunities for staff to impact outcomes, hold others accountable, and provide timely updates related to outcomes. In both 2022 and 2023, she led bedside staff in improving Unit overall NRC scores for two consecutive years. She has been an amazing leader on nights, supporting travelers, new nurses, new charge nurses, flexing her own schedule to meet the needs of the unit, while taking excellent care of her own patients. Angela has managed all of this while undertaking her own family health challenges. She is an Extraordinary Nurse and exemplary night shift leader at Atrium Health for over 8 years. Angela is truly a DAISY Nurse!