Throughout my nursing career, I have come across all types of coworkers. Some have become my closest friends; others I would trust to care for any of my family because they are compassionate, smart, and dedicated to providing amazing care to their patients. Briana embodies all these characteristics.

We work at an outpatient (for the most part) orthopedic and sports medicine surgery center, and our patients are relatively healthy. It can be easy to pre-op patients and overlook medical history or previous lab work. We also do not connect every patient to a telemetry monitor. Briana consistently reviews patients' charts thoroughly, and on this particular day, she was obtaining pre-op vital signs and noticed that the heart rate waveform from the pulse ox was abnormal.

She then connected the patient to a telemetry monitor and obtained an order for an EKG. The EKG confirmed the rhythm... atrial fibrillation. The patient has not had a history of an abnormal heart rhythm. The patient then reported he had episodes of dizziness at times. His total joint surgery was cancelled so the patient could follow up with cardiology. This was such an important find that the patient would not have chanced to experience a cardiac event while in surgery.

This is just one example of how detailed this nurse is. She has an ICU background, and although she is in an area of nursing with less acuity, her practice has not changed. She is also always helping out her fellow nurses and a great resource to all.