Anna and I met as CNAs on an acute respiratory care unit in a long-term acute care hospital about five years ago. She was already working there when I started, and she walked me through a lot of my training as a CNA. At the time, she was in nursing school. She was juggling full-time school and working multiple days a week as a CNA to gain more experience in the field. During our work together as CNAs, Anna taught me all the most important aspects of how to be a good caretaker. She taught me that nursing (whether CNA or RN) is not just about being kind and compassionate but about paying attention to each individual's unique needs. It's about getting to know your patients on a deeper level than just what is shown in their chart.

There are a few incidents that stick out in my mind. For example, one day, Anna spent over an hour combing the knots out of one of our patient's hair. This particular patient was bed-bound and so weak from being on a ventilator that she could hardly move on her own anymore. The hospital was busy and understaffed, so this patient's hair was generally the last of people's worries. However, Anna knew that some simple care would really lift this patient’s spirits, and she was right. After an hour of TLC, which was difficult to work into an already busy day, the patient perked up and was more motivated to get better.

Another example is one of our patients who was also on a ventilator and in a comatose state. After many months of not caring for herself, this patient's feet were extremely dry and cracking. The patient's family mentioned how the patient's overall hygiene was very important to her, and she would be sad upon hopefully waking up from her coma to find her feet so unkempt. For the next few shifts, Anna soaked the patient's feet, gently scrubbed them, and put lotion on them until they were no longer cracking and dry. These are just two of the many times Anna went out of her way to focus on the little things for patients.

Anna is now a mom and has worked her way up to becoming a wound care RN at the VA in Minneapolis. Her work now is something she is most proud of, and it shows every time I see her. She works with a difficult patient population, people who have been through a lot and don't always take good care of themselves. Despite the challenges she takes on every day, she has helped dozens of veterans over the last few years heal some very difficult wounds. More importantly, with her charismatic spirit, she touches the lives of people who have, in many ways, given up on themselves. There are a lot of people in this world who could be competently trained on how to give medications, but it truly takes a special individual to make strangers feel comfortable in their care, as Anna does. Being trained by Anna during my first hospital job taught me all the most important aspects of patient care that I have carried with me into my career now as a physician assistant. I am forever grateful that she was part of my introduction to the healthcare field. If a close friend or family member of mine is ever in a situation where they need nursing care, I hope they get even half as good of care as Anna gives to her patients.