My son had been sick for several days when I took him to urgent care because he was so weak and unable to hold down fluids. His nurse, Gracie, stood out as exemplary to me for several reasons. The provider determined that he needed IV fluids but cautioned me that I might have to take him to the ER, since urgent care nurses are not always comfortable starting IVs on children and lack some of the resources the ER has, such as numbing agents and child life specialists.

However, less than a minute after the NP went out to ask, Gracie was already coming back into the exam room to reassure my son that “we’ve got this.” She was so sweet and patient, explaining everything she was going to do and giving him the space he needed to recover from what was a very difficult situation for a kid. She never appeared frazzled, and her kindness and confidence made a huge difference.

Thank you, Gracie, for your nursing excellence and for making my son feel so much better on such a hard day for him.