Diane is a wonderful nurse. She cares for the patients as well as her coworkers. Diane is not afraid to get her hands dirty when a patient needs a bedpan. She does not leave the room to find a CNA. She helps the patients to the bathroom, gives ice water, even assists them with their bath. She assists with transferring the patient to the cart. She's also very helpful to the other nurses. She puts in IVs and anything else they might need help with. I never heard her say anything out of the way about her coworkers or complain. Diane is truly a team player, and if you are feeling down or not having a good day, she will say something funny. And believe me, she will make you laugh. She is the type of person that will make your day smoother (she could be a great comedian too), but I think she would be great at whatever she would do. And I also can say she is one nurse that I truly am happy to see when I get to work!
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Upon arriving to the floor and seeing the daily assignments, if you see the name Diane Sanchez, you know it is going to be a good day. No matter how many code blues, rapid responses, and code browns there is in the day - which trust me happens many times on our unit - you can trust that Diane will be there to help. She makes no distinctions and helps everyone including those lost outpatients that often wander into our unit. We often joke saying that her second calling other than being a nurse was to be a police detective. We say this because when Diane is asked a question, she will find out the answer no matter what, even if to get to the answer she has to make a dozen phone calls or go floor to floor, including the ER looking for patients' belongings. As her orientee, then co-worker and now friend, I can tell you first hand that Diane's patients always receive excellent care. She explains things to the patients in an easy to understand manner. I have never seen a better advocate for the patients. She always makes sure the patient is first and also that the patients know this and become empowered themselves. However, without a doubt, Diane's best trait is humor. We can be down in the dumps, very stressed out for whatever reason, and you can bet that she will crack a smart joke and lighten the atmosphere. Sometimes the best medicine we can give our patients and staff is laughter. Diane is a great role model to follow. She is always urging the new generation of nurses to be the best that they can be and continue to further their education. She always tells the new nurses "you choose what kind of nurse you want to be". Her choice was to become a great nurse.