Diana Leos
January 2020
Diana
Leos
,
RN, OCN
Moores Cancer Center
UC San Diego Health System
La Jolla
,
CA
United States
Diana Leos is not only an amazing nurse but often goes above and beyond for her patients because she cares so much for their overall wellbeing.
She is an integral part of the GI medical oncology practice. During clinic visits, she makes it a point to ask patients about themselves outside of their cancer diagnosis. She takes time to get to know who her patients are, including family members, hobbies, pets' names, etc. She truly wants to know who they are as humans so she can better understand how their cancer diagnosis and treatments will affect their quality of life. This detailed assessment also helps patients feel like they are being cared for while strengthening their relationship and trust with her. She often exceeds what is required of her nursing responsibilities.
One of Diana's patients was receiving oncology care through our charity care program. The patient was the mother of two young children and for several Christmases, Diana got together a wish list for each child and was able to collect gifts from our team for each of them. This same patient was having to ration out her pain and nausea medication. Diana and her team often paid for her meds to make sure that she had enough to adequately control her symptoms. When this patient passed, Diana was with her at her home bedside and helped to comfort the patient's two children.
Diana has been known to do things like this and so much more for her patients. She has even dropped off medication to patients' homes for those who may have problems with transportation.
During Thanksgiving 2018, Diana suffered a stroke. Fortunately, due to fast intervention, she was able to get treatment right away. She was off work for some time, but even when she was out, she was still worried about her patients and vice versa. Many patients left voicemails wishing her a safe and fast recovery. Upon return to the clinic, she hit the ground running and continues to provide the same excellent care while also taking a little time to make sure that she is taking care of herself. She is not only a compassionate nurse, she is a wonderful, loving human being.
She is an integral part of the GI medical oncology practice. During clinic visits, she makes it a point to ask patients about themselves outside of their cancer diagnosis. She takes time to get to know who her patients are, including family members, hobbies, pets' names, etc. She truly wants to know who they are as humans so she can better understand how their cancer diagnosis and treatments will affect their quality of life. This detailed assessment also helps patients feel like they are being cared for while strengthening their relationship and trust with her. She often exceeds what is required of her nursing responsibilities.
One of Diana's patients was receiving oncology care through our charity care program. The patient was the mother of two young children and for several Christmases, Diana got together a wish list for each child and was able to collect gifts from our team for each of them. This same patient was having to ration out her pain and nausea medication. Diana and her team often paid for her meds to make sure that she had enough to adequately control her symptoms. When this patient passed, Diana was with her at her home bedside and helped to comfort the patient's two children.
Diana has been known to do things like this and so much more for her patients. She has even dropped off medication to patients' homes for those who may have problems with transportation.
During Thanksgiving 2018, Diana suffered a stroke. Fortunately, due to fast intervention, she was able to get treatment right away. She was off work for some time, but even when she was out, she was still worried about her patients and vice versa. Many patients left voicemails wishing her a safe and fast recovery. Upon return to the clinic, she hit the ground running and continues to provide the same excellent care while also taking a little time to make sure that she is taking care of herself. She is not only a compassionate nurse, she is a wonderful, loving human being.