Janet’s experience and weather of knowledge in the NICU population are second to none. She is a resource for new and experienced nurses alike. She has an answer to any question brought her way and will always take the time to give a thoughtful explanation. Janet makes every one of us in the NICU a better nurse. You will undoubtedly learn something new each shift you have the pleasure of working alongside of her. I hope to someday be half as brilliant of a nurse as she is.

After a 40-year career, Janet still comes in every shift ready to take care of the sickest patient on the unit, all the while maintaining a level of compassion that one would see on the first day on the job. All of the changes that have occurred in NICU care during this time have caused many to go into retirement, as opposed to learning a new way of doing things, but Janet has rolled with the punches and is frequently more up-to-date with current practices than those just out of school. Not only is Janet an exceptional colleague but she is also an even better nurse for her patients; she consistently goes above and beyond the call of duty as a bedside nurse.

Before the inception of the milestone committee on our unit, which makes all the signs for our patients, there was just Janet. Like the angel that she is, she often takes the time outside of work to make her primaries name signs, buy them cute outfits, and create individualized items for her more long-term patients to make them more comfortable. Her outstanding service and patient-centered care make her a hot commodity and is frequently requested by parents to be a primary nurse for babies expected to have a prolonged hospital stay. Knowing that Janet will be there to care for their baby, parents feel safe enough to go home to rest during the night which is invaluable for exhausted and anxious NICU parents. Janet uses her extensive experience and keen nursing instinct to detect the slightest changes in her patients and is constantly advocating on their behalf.

During a recent shift, Janet was caring for a micro-preemie on CPAP who was showing signs of decompensating and she deemed that the patient needed to be intubated. She expressed her concerns to the care team, but against her wishes, they wanted to continue to monitor. Janet continued to advocate for her patient throughout the entire shift and diligently charted dozens of apnea/bradycardia/desaturation events as well as numerous provider notifications. Due to her advocacy and persistence, the patient was eventually intubated which they desperately needed.

Over the course of the years, Janet has done nearly every role and has excelled at each. I have recently been trained in the role of ECMO nurse; here you have to care for the sickest of patients. During this time, I have been told by numerous members of the team, “If things hit the fan, you better hope you have Janet Martin as your ECMO partner.” Minor problems in the NICU have the ability to snowball into life-threatening issues in an instant, and Janet’s ability to detect and inform the team in a timely manner has saved countless lives. If my child was ever to be admitted to the NICU, Janet Martine is the nurse I want to take care of my child. Whether it be 2022 or 1992, there is not a nurse in our unit who was not impacted for the better thanks to Janet.