Jenna Davis is one of the finest nurses that I have ever had the pleasure to work with. No task or assignment is ever too menial or great for her, and she consistently goes above and beyond for not only the patients in her care but also her co-workers. Whenever called, Jenna gladly floats to another department to help without complaint if the census on our mother/baby unit is low. She works without complaint, with a grateful heart and joyful and thankful spirit. It is not unusual to see Jenna not only doing patient care but cleaning rooms, scrubbing floors, taking out the trash, cleaning toilets or doing whatever needs to be done in her patient's rooms. Jenna is the epitome of a team player.
Recently, Jenna was called to float and sit in the ICU with a rather combative and agitated patient. This particular patient ended up leaving the ICU AMA and then checking back into the ER. Jenna went to sit in the ER with this patient and then proceeded to follow him up to Med-Tele without hesitation. When the patient came out of his altered state closer to the morning, Jenna was able to speak with him and have a rational, non-judgmental and compassionate conversation with this patient. By the end of the shift, the patient and Jenna shared a hug and she wished him well in his journey of healing. In my humble opinion, this embodies the nurse-patient relationship and what we are called to do and be in healthcare as an advocate for healing. I will leave this nomination with a quote, which I believe embodies Jenna Davis and her practice as a nurse.
"Nursing is an art, and if it is to be made an art, it requires as exclusive a devotion, as hard a preparation, as any painter's or sculptor's work; for what is having to do with dead canvas or cold marble, compared with having to do with the living body-the temple of God's spirit? It is one of the Fine Arts; I had almost said, the finest of the Fine Arts." ~ Florence Nightingale