January Belcher
August 2023
January
Belcher
,
RN
9 East Rhodes
The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center University Hospital
Columbus
,
OH
United States
She improves the lives of patients and staff daily. She shows up to every single shift with the intention of taking the best care of her patients and stops at nothing to make sure her job is done to the highest quality.
Since the beginning of my nursing career seven years ago, January has been one of the most impactful, hardworking nurses I have encountered. She trained me as a new grad and then remained a role model and source of comfort and information when I was finally on my own. There are many stories I could use to exemplify the quality of nursing care that January provides and the significant impact she has on our unit, but these two will always stick with me.
On our floor, we have very sick hepatology patients who are commonly confined to their rooms due to being too decompensated to ambulate safely. Their length of stay is usually long, and they miss out on living life outside of the hospital. A patient of ours had been in the hospital for almost a week when January took care of her. At some point during their time together, the patient told January she was upset. She said it was her husband's birthday the next morning, and she hadn't been able to get him a gift since she was in the hospital. January took this information, clocked out at 7:30 AM, waited for the gift shop to open, and came back to the unit with a balloon, card, and gift for the patient to give her husband. The patient was completely surprised and thrilled about this random act of kindness and being able to participate in her husband's birthday.
Another story that stands out occurred during and after a code on our floor. During a night shift, a patient of ours took a turn for the worse and ended up coding with his wife in the room. January was not the primary nurse, but she was heavily involved during the entire code since there were many new nurses staffed that night who were inexperienced in running a code. After much effort and a lengthy amount of time, interventions were stopped, and the patient ultimately passed away. This code was very traumatic for a few staff members, and it was apparent that some were not coping well. When the code ended, she began recognizing the traumatizing effect this event had on our staff. She went above and beyond to help our staff in this difficult time by providing comfort and reassurance. She found time outside of her own patient assignment and responsibilities to ensure her coworkers felt supported and validated in their feelings and efforts. I truly believe January was the sole person to turn the tide on the emotional response to this event.
I strive to be the nurse that January is. She improves the lives of patients and staff daily. She shows up to every single shift with the intention of taking the best care of her patients and stops at nothing to make sure her job is done to the highest quality. She strongly advocates for her patients and is never afraid to speak up when something isn't sitting well. Because of this, she has prevented multiple poor outcomes for our patients. She supports and protects her coworkers with an effort I've never seen before. I think I speak for most when I say I am incredibly thankful and honored to have the opportunity to work with January.
On our floor, we have very sick hepatology patients who are commonly confined to their rooms due to being too decompensated to ambulate safely. Their length of stay is usually long, and they miss out on living life outside of the hospital. A patient of ours had been in the hospital for almost a week when January took care of her. At some point during their time together, the patient told January she was upset. She said it was her husband's birthday the next morning, and she hadn't been able to get him a gift since she was in the hospital. January took this information, clocked out at 7:30 AM, waited for the gift shop to open, and came back to the unit with a balloon, card, and gift for the patient to give her husband. The patient was completely surprised and thrilled about this random act of kindness and being able to participate in her husband's birthday.
Another story that stands out occurred during and after a code on our floor. During a night shift, a patient of ours took a turn for the worse and ended up coding with his wife in the room. January was not the primary nurse, but she was heavily involved during the entire code since there were many new nurses staffed that night who were inexperienced in running a code. After much effort and a lengthy amount of time, interventions were stopped, and the patient ultimately passed away. This code was very traumatic for a few staff members, and it was apparent that some were not coping well. When the code ended, she began recognizing the traumatizing effect this event had on our staff. She went above and beyond to help our staff in this difficult time by providing comfort and reassurance. She found time outside of her own patient assignment and responsibilities to ensure her coworkers felt supported and validated in their feelings and efforts. I truly believe January was the sole person to turn the tide on the emotional response to this event.
I strive to be the nurse that January is. She improves the lives of patients and staff daily. She shows up to every single shift with the intention of taking the best care of her patients and stops at nothing to make sure her job is done to the highest quality. She strongly advocates for her patients and is never afraid to speak up when something isn't sitting well. Because of this, she has prevented multiple poor outcomes for our patients. She supports and protects her coworkers with an effort I've never seen before. I think I speak for most when I say I am incredibly thankful and honored to have the opportunity to work with January.