Julie is one of those nurses for whom going over and beyond for a patient, is just a normal day. She not only takes excellent care of her own patients but also is the first nurse to jump up and help other nurses on the unit. Recently, I received a patient the day after Julie had cared for them and as soon as I entered the room the patient's face dropped. He said, "You are not Julie". I then started to calm the patient down as he was becoming increasingly anxious and upset. He explained to me that Julie had him the day prior and was not only a comfort to him but his family too. So, this patient had a procedure the day Julie had him, but his family was unable to be with him, which made the patient and his family very anxious. So, to relieve some of this anxiety Julie gave his family member her direct line and kept them updated throughout the day on how the procedure was going and allowed them to connect with her whenever they needed to. This made the patient and his family feel so much better and relieved any unnecessary stress they might have had. Julie not only treats her patients like they are part of her family, but their families become part of hers too.
Another time Julie went over and beyond was when she sang for her patient. Julie's patient was upset that they would not be able to make it to church one Sunday, so Julie was discussing with her their favorite parts of mass. They both shared favorite church songs and found that they both enjoyed the same one. When Julie found this out, she then began to sing to her patient and caused her patient to become very emotional. Julie's patient said no had ever sung to her or ever made her feel that special.
Julie is one of those nurses who is always helping, whether it is for her patients, their families, other nurses on the unit or to advocate for her patients to get the best care possible. She is the type of nurse you want for your family member because you know they will receive the best from every aspect of their care.