I am nominating Kathleen because when I think of her the first few words that come to mind are intuitive, helpful, diligent, attentive, warm, eager, compassionate, and a fast-walker! Kathleen is such a phenomenal RN! In my two years of working alongside Kathleen, she has been given very difficult and high acuity assignments. She has treated every assignment with pure grace, never once complaining about it being unfair. Although some might say her advocating and attentive nature is what separated her from other RNs!
For example, prior to Thanksgiving, we had a stem cell transplant patient who is a super Cubs fan and he received the donor cells from his brother, a super Sox fan! While this patient was the sickest patient for two days, Kathleen was able to attend to his physical, mental, and emotional needs all in the same day which is incredibly impressive! Per the patient, he and Kathleen were talking about ways the patient could thank his brother for saving his life while keeping it upbeat and funny. After much brainstorming and a thirteen-hour shift, unbeknownst to the patient who thought Kathleen had Christmas decorations at home, Kathleen actually went out to Target for decorations. She spent her own money and came back the next morning and helped the patient decorate is IV pole and made him a poster making a joke about still being a Cubs fan post stem cell transplant!
The patient was so proud of this and showed everyone who came into his room, beaming about his gratefulness for Kathleen. The patient asked me to write this on behalf of him as he was so sick at the time and didn't feel up to writing. Due largely in part to Kathleen's quick thinking and advocating, this patient was transferred to the ICU. When appropriate, the patient was discharged prior to Christmas to spend time with his family. Even on days when Kathleen is busy, she steps in and helps me and other RNs without being asked! She has a 6th sense and shows up to the room and starts working alongside an RN or patient in need. Kathleen is an invaluable RN and deserves to be a DAISY Honoree.