In our nursing lifetimes, we are blessed when we meet a nurse whom you would want every other nurse to be. Corina Wolfer, RN, MSN, CEN, is such a nurse who inspires confidence in her patients and their families, and in her own peers. She is a strong patient advocate who is always anticipating what her patient needs. Amidst the organized chaos in the ED, she always maintains a positive attitude and exhibits a quiet calmness, kind disposition, and infinite wisdom when she talks to her patients, whether they are intoxicated, being difficult, or just being in the throes of dementia.
Corina has been with the institution for 14 years. I have known her only for just under three years. As her supervisor, I am extremely lucky to have someone who is clinically excellent but also kind to her patients. I would say that if you would want her to be a nurse to your loved one, then she must really be good. I wish I can clone her.
Teamwork- Corina creates a friendly environment for those she precepts. She is an eager teacher. She is easily one of the best and one of the most accommodating preceptors we have ever had. She continues to serve as a resource person and mentor to her orientees long after orientation has been completed. She demonstrates situational awareness and mutual support to her team members.
Empathy- Corina is a great listener. She is extremely compassionate with her patients and gives them her full attention. I have seen her patiently repeating her instructions to her patient and to the other members of the family who came after.
Transparency- You can see her sincerity in her radiant smile. She is unfailingly honest but very polite in her feedback. Her orientees know that her feedback comes from a fervent desire to make them the best they can be.
Creativity- Last year, Corina received credit for recognizing a missing patient and had been instrumental in reuniting the patient with his family. She was able to calm the patient down to give the family time to come to the ED.
Safety- She is a safe nurse. She demonstrates a strong work ethic. She is thoughtful and conscientious in her practice. She makes sure that she provides the safest care possible to her patients.
Agility- She is a charge nurse's delight. She accepts her assignment without complaint and provides assistance without prompting.
Optimism- Didn't I just describe her radiant smile? Corina approaches her day with an open mind and bright-eyed optimism that we can always improve things around in the workplace. When she was chosen to participate in a Lean Kaizen event, she provided positive input in the discussions and encouraged her peers to think outside the box.
Corina is unquestionably an excellent practitioner with extensive clinical experience in critical care and trauma. She has achieved her MHA degree but chooses to remain at the bedside. She also achieved specialty certification in emergency nursing.
With a group of ED nurse volunteers, Corina also recently collaborated with a group of DNP students from Columbia University to develop a refresher training on the emergency delivery and care of the newborn. She brought her expertise as a former Labor and Delivery nurse to assist the team to teach the ED nurses in the Annual Nursing Competency.
Corina is a wonderful role model and mentor, and a true DAISY Nurse.
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Corina Wolfer is one of our BEST ER nurses whom I have worked with over the past 30 years as an ER attending. Corina has an excellent rapport with staff, patients and works extremely hard without complaining even at chaotic conditions keeping her calm demeanor. I want to bring your attention to an incident when Corina organized food delivery from fresh direct.com when a staff member's child had terminal cancer. The child was admitted at Memorial Sloan Kettering medical center and both parents were at the hospital for months, leaving other kids with friends and family, and they didn't have time for cooking for their family.
I have NEVER seen Corina get angry and she always has a smile on her face. Corina also offers snacks, water or drinks for patients and family who are in the ER for a prolonged period of time waiting for lab results and imaging studies and keeps them updated with the results. When we ask her to do something for a patient, Corina always tries to help even though it's not her patient. I strongly recommend Corina to take care of our family and friends if they have to come to the ER, and without any doubt, she will reassure them with the best care. I wish Corina all the best to continue her outstanding job as one of the BEST ER NURSES!
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Corina Wolfer is a nurse whom any institution would be proud to have due to her dedication, knowledge, and compassion. I have known Corina for years, worked with her on a team and observed her as a charge nurse. Her enthusiasm or interest to learn new things has not changed as medicine evolves. She is aware of all her patients no matter how many patients are assigned to her. She enriches the Ed with her OB-GYN experience. She is a terrific asset and great preceptor to any new nurse in the department. She is so comfortable taking care of her critical patients as well as educating her less acute ones.
Nurse Corina is competent, reliable, punctual, and compassionate. In a word, she is an ideal nurse. I have been a nurse for 32 years and she is my first choice if I should need a nurse in our Emergency Room. I am sure most of my colleagues attest to this.
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Corina is so deserving of this honor and is so well-respected by me and her nursing colleagues. She is not only kind and generous, but she displays a quiet wisdom that makes her an excellent mentor and friend. I know that even if Corina doesn't know the answer right away to one of my questions, that she will seek it out from the right resources. She often precepts new nurses in the department. She is patient with them, communicates about issues and their progress, and makes them feel welcome in a way that is so comforting to a new person in a busy Emergency Department. She is always bringing new ideas to the table to help improve the department, the workflow of nurses, and the experience that our patients are receiving.
Corina comes to work every shift ready to do what needs to be done. She doesn't complain when her day isn't so smooth. Ready to speak her mind if patient safety is at risk. Corina doesn't sit down until her team members can sit down. Working in Nursing Leadership pulls you away from the bedside much of the time. What I used to think of as "missing the action", I watch Corina and realize that it's not the action I miss, it's the interaction. Corina establishes relationships with her patients in a way that they remember her when they have to come back to us. She listens to them and tries to calm their fears, she answers their questions, and she makes family members feel like when they leave they still have a lifeline to reach out to someplace in this department. I once watched Corina give medication instructions to a patient with new-onset Alzheimer's 3 times. I myself was impatient and I was only watching them. She never showed that sort of impatience towards her patient and afterward, I found myself wanting to go back to the bedside just to teach new graduate nurses that level of care because I know one day I'll be someone's patient. We all need a Nurse Corina when we get older.
I feel honored to work with Corina and each day I learn a new thing from her or about her. I'm proud to call her one of my mentors and I'm happy that she's receiving the recognition she so greatly deserves.