Donna Cribb
January 2022
Donna
Cribb
,
RN
Intensive Care Unit
Newton Medical Center
Newton
,
NJ
United States
This moment touched me then and touches me now as Donna's only concern that night was her patients, not the overwhelming amount of work she had ahead of her that night.
If anyone needed a reminder of what a compassionate nurse should be like, the nurse I met this time last year comes to mind. Donna Huether and I don’t even know each other but that’s the beauty of the impact a special person can leave. I work in the PACU and I was floated to help out as a buddy to 1 South and ICU during the memorable COVID surge of Spring 2020. The first night I floated to ICU, happened to be the first night working after the decision was made about a change in the nurse:patient ratio. I walked into a battle zone, quickly meeting only Donna’s eyes as we were covered from head to toe in our COVID body armor. I was shocked to find out she started her shift actually with 6 patients, and I noticed soon after meeting her, Donna became a little emotional. Of course, it must be from the overwhelming ratio she walked into that night, I thought. When I went over to ask her if everything was ok, she answered that the patient she had just died and she was somewhat young, in her 50s, if I’m not mistaken. Donna was saying how it just wasn’t fair. This moment touched me then and touches me now as her only concern that night was her patients, not the overwhelming amount of work she had ahead of her that night.
Despite all the different emotions that night, she went into each and every patient’s room, completing a thorough critical care assessment, charting with such detail as if the new ratio never changed her practice, only her time management. Donna’s night started with a patient death, later transferring out a patient mid-shift, only to end with what we call a “train wreck” admission. The patient was very unstable on arrival, and Donna was in there, along with the help of the other ICU nurses, working as a super-nurse trying to do everything she could to stabilize this patient knowing she had other busy patients she needed to tend to. She never skipped a beat and her skills and work ethic were evident that night. She didn’t even have a break that night because she was just working nonstop! That night left such bittersweet memories with me starting with the challenging ICU ratios the nurses had to undertake that night, continuing with the compassion Donna had for her patients. Donna is a true DAISY Nurse, role model, and a lasting inspiration to all current and future nurses.
Despite all the different emotions that night, she went into each and every patient’s room, completing a thorough critical care assessment, charting with such detail as if the new ratio never changed her practice, only her time management. Donna’s night started with a patient death, later transferring out a patient mid-shift, only to end with what we call a “train wreck” admission. The patient was very unstable on arrival, and Donna was in there, along with the help of the other ICU nurses, working as a super-nurse trying to do everything she could to stabilize this patient knowing she had other busy patients she needed to tend to. She never skipped a beat and her skills and work ethic were evident that night. She didn’t even have a break that night because she was just working nonstop! That night left such bittersweet memories with me starting with the challenging ICU ratios the nurses had to undertake that night, continuing with the compassion Donna had for her patients. Donna is a true DAISY Nurse, role model, and a lasting inspiration to all current and future nurses.