December 2014
Leigh
Harper
,
RN
Unit 6B
Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC
Pittsburgh
,
PA
United States
It was clear that Leigh was loved and admired by all of her coworkers when it was confirmed she would be coming back to work on our unit after taking a break to travel-nurse. Nothing but praise and positive words were being said about her and everyone was excited to have her back to work on our unit. The first time I met Leigh after her return, I was greeted with a confident smile that instantly made me realize how no one had any bad words to say about her. Leigh takes that same confidence and positive attitude into work every day.
A few months ago, a teenage patient was admitted to our unit from another hospital. This patient appeared to be depressed, hadn't bathed in a while, and was generally feeling pretty ill. Leigh took the time to help him get bathed and lotion his dry skin in an effort to make him feel more confident about himself. In addition to cracking some jokes in order to get a smile about him, she also had an Xbox brought to his room to help him regain some normalcy in his life and get him to be more active. Perhaps the most amazing thing Leigh did for this patient was notice that his glasses were broken and taped together in the middle. Leigh contacted the appropriate personnel in order to get him a new set of glasses. At the end of the day, great progress was shown in this patient's attitude. He was a new person and it was all thanks to the care and compassion shown by Leigh. Not only were his physical needs taken care of, but his emotional needs as well.
It is clear that Leigh's compassion does not just extend to her patients. She is the perfect example of a team player. In May of Leigh's coworkers received a heart wrenching phone call during the middle of a shift where she was informed that her grandmother had passed away. This coworker was not in an emotional state to work after hearing this information, but no floating nurses were available to come take her place. Leigh offered and did take on her patient load in order to facilitate her leaving as soon as possible. On one of her coworker's worst days this year, she was able to make her feel a little bit better.
On night shift a few weeks ago, we were low staffed and feeling a bit stressed already, when a patient started to have difficulty breathing. His nurse stayed in his room for well over an hour as he was evaluated by his team of doctors, the PICU, and was eventually transferred to the PICU. During this time, Leigh checked on and assessed the nurse's other patients. She gave medications, took report on and admitted a new patient, and documented his first assessment in Cerner. The nurse sending her patient to the PICU was a newer nurse doing her first ICU transfer and this extra help allowed her to focus on her decompensating patient, rather than that patient, her other floor patients, and her new admission.
Going above and beyond is not something that Leigh does in order to get recognized. She does not brag about what a great nurse she is or the extraordinary measures she goes through to help her patients or coworkers, but every day her actions are noticed and appreciated by those around her. She was greatly missed when she left to travel-nurse, but the many hospitals she went to were so lucky to have experienced her.
A few months ago, a teenage patient was admitted to our unit from another hospital. This patient appeared to be depressed, hadn't bathed in a while, and was generally feeling pretty ill. Leigh took the time to help him get bathed and lotion his dry skin in an effort to make him feel more confident about himself. In addition to cracking some jokes in order to get a smile about him, she also had an Xbox brought to his room to help him regain some normalcy in his life and get him to be more active. Perhaps the most amazing thing Leigh did for this patient was notice that his glasses were broken and taped together in the middle. Leigh contacted the appropriate personnel in order to get him a new set of glasses. At the end of the day, great progress was shown in this patient's attitude. He was a new person and it was all thanks to the care and compassion shown by Leigh. Not only were his physical needs taken care of, but his emotional needs as well.
It is clear that Leigh's compassion does not just extend to her patients. She is the perfect example of a team player. In May of Leigh's coworkers received a heart wrenching phone call during the middle of a shift where she was informed that her grandmother had passed away. This coworker was not in an emotional state to work after hearing this information, but no floating nurses were available to come take her place. Leigh offered and did take on her patient load in order to facilitate her leaving as soon as possible. On one of her coworker's worst days this year, she was able to make her feel a little bit better.
On night shift a few weeks ago, we were low staffed and feeling a bit stressed already, when a patient started to have difficulty breathing. His nurse stayed in his room for well over an hour as he was evaluated by his team of doctors, the PICU, and was eventually transferred to the PICU. During this time, Leigh checked on and assessed the nurse's other patients. She gave medications, took report on and admitted a new patient, and documented his first assessment in Cerner. The nurse sending her patient to the PICU was a newer nurse doing her first ICU transfer and this extra help allowed her to focus on her decompensating patient, rather than that patient, her other floor patients, and her new admission.
Going above and beyond is not something that Leigh does in order to get recognized. She does not brag about what a great nurse she is or the extraordinary measures she goes through to help her patients or coworkers, but every day her actions are noticed and appreciated by those around her. She was greatly missed when she left to travel-nurse, but the many hospitals she went to were so lucky to have experienced her.