Cristina Vanegas
February 2019
Cristina
Vanegas
,
RN
Medical-Surgical Unit
MIssion Regional Medical Center
Mission
,
TX
United States

 

 

 

I was a patient in 3S after surgery and Cristina was the nurse who took care of me upon my arrival to the floor. Immediately when I arrived, she greeted me with a kind smile and instantly made me feel like I would be well taken care of. I was in so much pain and she remained patient and kind throughout the night despite my many issues of being overheated and nauseated.
Cristina carried out the nursing tasks as you would expect, but what made her stand out was her attitude. She always came into the room with a smile and a caring attitude. I could tell that she was in the profession because she loved to care for people and genuinely was concerned about my well-being. She spent much of her night with me making sure I was comfortable and went out of her way to answer any questions or find the answers if she did not know them. I was so hot, and this was contributing to my nausea, so she worked with the charge nurse to have the house supervisor bring a fan from their office to make me more comfortable, which I felt was going above and beyond for the customer.
When Cristina left that morning, she gave bedside report and I felt she had made a connection with me, which is something that I believe is so important in the nursing profession, but a skill that not all nurses have, and Cristina has that skill. She makes you feel like you are her only patient despite knowing she had several other patients to care for. I was impressed at her kindness and compassion for my situation and how she made me feel "safe". I was confident knowing she would take care of me if something went wrong and what a blessing that was. Cristina is a wonderful nurse and her heart for what she does was evident in the care and attention she gave me.