The vision of Elizabeth that always stays in my mind is seeing her rolling up her sleeves as she runs to the nearest code blue being called overhead because Elizabeth is always one of the first people to jump in to help. Another trait that always sticks out with Elizabeth is her big cheerful smile always bringing a laugh to the floor.
Over the last few years the census has been much higher causing many of the surge units to be open. As a fellow float pool nurse, Elizabeth and I have spent more time together working on these surge units. It is during this time that I have repeatedly seen how Elizabeth always practices at the highest level of excellence. She is the first person to know if something is wrong with her patient and she will not stop until she finds a solution for the patient and their family. She truly provides the best patient-centered care whether it is fixing a problem from when the patient was first admitted to any problem they have on her shift, she carries herself with fervent perseverance. She has this way of seeing things that others may miss. Patients that are not even hers will be discharging and Elizabeth is the one that catches that the patient almost forgot some of their belongings and she will be the first to run to return them.
I even remember a time when a patient left their belongings, Elizabeth called them, got their address and was kind enough to take it to the patient on her way home.
As a charge nurse, one thing that makes the entire day go more smoothly is having team-oriented nurses. Elizabeth always goes above and beyond as a floor teammate. I have seen many a time when new nurses on the floor were busy or swamped and I found Elizabeth was in their patient's room passing medications, helping the patient with cares, cardioversions, and rapid responses. Nothing is too big for Elizabeth, she will always step in to help anyone, and due to her years of floating to the ER and ICU, her medical knowledge is incredibility insightful.
One of the things I appreciate the most about Elizabeth is how she is always striving to provide the safest, most thorough and efficient care. I love it because she not only holds herself to a high standard but also those around her and that makes for the best patient outcomes. With that, she is not afraid to stand up for what is right even in difficult situations. Whether it is holding patients on the ER, having to rapid response several patients alone in the admit unit or having a difficult group of patients on 4S, she never fails to provide amazing care.
I am so thankful for the many opportunities to have worked with Elizabeth and I am so very grateful she is a part of the float pool. Elizabeth's clinical knowledge, patient-centered care, and continued commitment to excellence are many reasons why she embodies the true values of Salem Health every time she comes to work!