While caring for a patient this week, Julie was able to make a connection with her and glean a little more information about her home life that one couldn’t learn from simply reading her chart and passing meds. Julie conversed with the patient, and the patient opened up to her about her alcoholism and well-hidden parts of her personal life. Julie came to my office to brainstorm about what could be done. She expressed concern regarding safe long-term discharge plans and general things the patient needed help with. We developed a plan and were able to execute what was likely just the beginning of it today. Julie worked for nearly three hours with a positive and reassuring attitude to clean this patient’s home and attempt to make it more livable.

She showed up on her day off with boots on, ready to tackle whatever we encountered in the home. She spoke to this person in ways that let her know that she mattered and was not less than because of her situation. Julie cared. She was quite literally the hands and feet of Jesus for a person that she could have easily treated as ‘just a patient.’ While the story of this patient is not over, Julie has already done so much to hopefully give the patient a ray of hope during a very gloomy time in her life. This is the kind of nurse I want to work with day in and day out, and certainly the type I would want caring for my loved ones.