Let me start by saying that I have been a nurse for almost 10 years in an ER, and Julianne is the type of nurse who I personally aspire to be like when providing care to my own patients. She was a comforting presence, extremely knowledgeable, and oftentimes, a source of laughter with her down-to-earth and relatable style of nursing care during my first night and second night admitted to Labor and Delivery.

I was originally seen for abdominal trauma (I am currently a little over 31 weeks pregnant) and discharged after 4 hours of monitoring. A few hours after arriving home, new symptoms started and I was instructed to come back, which obviously was very scary. After being evaluated in the L&D triage area, they determined that they were going to admit me to L&D for continuous monitoring. This is where I met Julianne. She came over to escort me to my room and immediately made me feel comfortable. She took the time to sit down and talk to me about everything that was going on and what the plan of care would be.

As a first-time mom, and not having any L&D knowledge, I was incredibly nervous. Julianne helped to put my fears aside by speaking to me in a calm and relatable manner and acknowledging how I was feeling, while also reassuring me. She made me know that I was in good hands without ever needing to actually say those exact words. Despite being a nurse, I am extremely afraid of needles. Julianne listened to my concerns and worked with me to calm my fears not only when inserting an IV, but also giving me an intramuscular injection. Throughout the night, Julianne intermittently came in to check on me and to see if I needed anything.

When she left in the morning, I couldn't help but feel a little sad that she wouldn't be my nurse anymore. I spent the day being monitored and, although my day nurse was incredibly kind and checked on me, I didn't feel as comfortable with her. At around 7 pm, my daytime nurse informed me that Julianne would be my nurse again for the night and immediately I felt relieved. When the covering OBGYN came in and spoke with me about my plan of care (after I had voiced my desire that I wanted to be discharged as soon as I was safe to go home), I was given 2 options; be discharged at that time and come back to L&D triage to receive an injection in the middle of the night, or stay until 12:30 AM to receive the injection and then go home (or stay until morning if I wanted to sleep prior to discharge).

Despite having the option to go home, I chose to stay for my injection at 12:30 a.m. because I knew Julianne would be my nurse. Shortly after, she came in to say hello and start her shift caring for me. As we talked, I mentioned that I really knew nothing about Labor and Delivery or any of the processes. As soon as I said this, Julianne offered to educate me so I could feel a little more prepared for all the possible scenarios that come with delivering a baby. She drew me diagrams, explained all the medications and how they're used (and in which order and why), explained the different terms used in labor and what they mean, explained the correct method of pushing, explained different procedures that the OBGYN might use to expedite labor, gave me insight into what happens immediately after the baby is delivered, told me all the different types of people who might be in the room, told me the different processes for scheduled c-sections vs emergency c-sections, etc. She went through everything that she could think of in a way that made sense to someone with a limited background in maternity, which helped me to understand so much better, and made me feel incredibly more comfortable with the entire labor process.

She answered my questions along the way, and even after teaching me everything, she still sat with me and answered other questions that came to my mind. After she left the room, even my husband said how nice, knowledgeable, and how great of a nurse she seemed to be. After a little bit, she came back in to check on me and sat with me talking more about L&D and answering even more questions. Julianne honestly made a terrible situation into a positive experience and I'm very thankful that I had her as a nurse.