Cynthia McKinley
October 2019
Cynthia
McKinley
,
BSN, RN
Burn Unit
DMC - Detroit Receiving Hospital
Detroit
,
MI
United States
Cindy has been a nurse on 4T since 2015 and is probably one of the most optimistic, positive, kind-hearted and clinically intelligent nurses I have had the pleasure of working with. I witnessed something yesterday when doing rounds on the ICU's that almost brought me to tears.
Earlier in the year, an elderly woman was admitted to the 4T with scald burns from hot water at a nursing home. She had an extended stay in the ICU and since she really did not have much family that came to the hospital, she became family with the burn unit staff. She was discharged a couple of months ago back to the same nursing home that she was originally admitted from and is transported back to the burn unit every Tuesday for wound care and dressing changes.
When she first started returning, she would always ask if there was food because the nursing home would often send her to DRH before breakfast was served, and often she would return after lunch. Cindy became close with this patient and found out that she absolutely loves donuts. Ever since then, for the past months, Cindy brings in donuts to work every Tuesday for her patient and the staff to ensure that her patient has something to eat, has something to look forward to before the often painful and traumatic dressing change, and ensures she leaves the unit with joy.
Burn traumas are often some of the most physically and emotionally painful traumas that humans can endure. Day-in and day-out, Cindy performs her care with a kind and gentle heart, ensuring that every single one of her patients has a little bit of light shining-in during a very dark time in their lives. Cindy does not expect attention or praise for her continuous actions that go above and beyond, they are truly from her heart. I can't even begin to tell you how many lives Cindy has touched in this very way.
In addition to being a staff nurse, Cindy is the unit's pressure ulcer prevention champion as well as a preceptor to new nurses where she serves as a resource, a teacher, and a friend. I look forward to bearing witness to the lives she will uplift with her uncanny, kind, funny, and radiant spirit. The healthcare field is insane these days; knowing that there are nurses like Cindy makes me optimistic for the future.
Earlier in the year, an elderly woman was admitted to the 4T with scald burns from hot water at a nursing home. She had an extended stay in the ICU and since she really did not have much family that came to the hospital, she became family with the burn unit staff. She was discharged a couple of months ago back to the same nursing home that she was originally admitted from and is transported back to the burn unit every Tuesday for wound care and dressing changes.
When she first started returning, she would always ask if there was food because the nursing home would often send her to DRH before breakfast was served, and often she would return after lunch. Cindy became close with this patient and found out that she absolutely loves donuts. Ever since then, for the past months, Cindy brings in donuts to work every Tuesday for her patient and the staff to ensure that her patient has something to eat, has something to look forward to before the often painful and traumatic dressing change, and ensures she leaves the unit with joy.
Burn traumas are often some of the most physically and emotionally painful traumas that humans can endure. Day-in and day-out, Cindy performs her care with a kind and gentle heart, ensuring that every single one of her patients has a little bit of light shining-in during a very dark time in their lives. Cindy does not expect attention or praise for her continuous actions that go above and beyond, they are truly from her heart. I can't even begin to tell you how many lives Cindy has touched in this very way.
In addition to being a staff nurse, Cindy is the unit's pressure ulcer prevention champion as well as a preceptor to new nurses where she serves as a resource, a teacher, and a friend. I look forward to bearing witness to the lives she will uplift with her uncanny, kind, funny, and radiant spirit. The healthcare field is insane these days; knowing that there are nurses like Cindy makes me optimistic for the future.