Jill has recently taken on the role of Clinical Manager for 8Main after 6 years as a staff nurse on that unit. She was nominated by Stacey Chicklon, BSN, RN few months ago when Jill was still working as a charge nurse. Stacey is a newer nurse who wrote about her first loss of a patient. This patient had a DNR status. As he was getting near to passing away during the middle of the night, Jill McNamara stayed in the room with the patient and held his hand as Stacey was making several phone calls to the patient's doctors and family. Stacey wrote how much it meant to her that Jill was not only there for the patient but there for Stacey as well, "Jill consoled me the rest of the night and even called to check on me the next night. I truly believe that this night's events wouldn't have gone as smoothly as they did (nor as comfortably for the patient) if Jill was not there for us."



The trunk of our Professional Practice Model represents the caring relationships that are at the very core of the tree. This includes relationships are with patients and family, colleagues and self. One of our nursing theorists, Kristin Swanson, describes five caring behaviors, one of which is "being with." She defines "being with" as conveying a sense of emotional presence with the person being cared for; assuring the patient they are not alone. This is exactly what Jill did that night. Thank you Jill!