Mary Eliza's compassion, intelligence and keen intuition has driven her to provide safe, effective and timely care to her patients and their families. She demonstrates strong leadership, and has developed a clinical excellence which defines her.

Pediatric oncology in our institution is a special calling for nurses. It takes an extraordinary kind of nurse to adapt to the demanding and emotional needs of the pediatric patient and their family unit as a whole. Not only does Mary Eliza stand out among our superior pediatric staff, she is a leader who is admired and a model that nurses strive to emulate. She establishes therapeutic relationships with her patients and family while retaining her professional integrity. Her peers come to her not only for her clinical expertise and judgment but also for advice and guidance in upholding evidenced based patient care practices and standards.

She is the Magnet Champion for our unit, and is an active member of the hospital wide Relationship Based Care Committee, Divisional Council, and the Ethics Committee. She exemplifies the type of intelligence, caring and dedication that has always been at the core of Memorial's nursing practice.

Mary Eliza is fully adept at performing many skills, on some of the smallest and youngest patients, such as Foley catheter insertions, central line dressing changes, ostomy care, nasogastric tube insertions and accessing MediPorts according to MSKCC's policy and
procedure manual. She is a knowledgeable resource to her peers on the unit when standards
of care are in question.

Mary Eliza is able to cultivate and foster therapeutic relationships with both her patients and families. The pediatric population on M9 ranges from newborn to patients in their thirties, and she is able to deliver age appropriate competent care to all. She realizes the importance of therapeutic relationships and ensures that her patients view her as a non judgmental and trusted source of information. Providing the necessary education for treatment as well as self care in order to optimize her patients across the healthcare continuum of pediatrics is of
utmost importance to her, and it is also a goal that she upholds to her peers.

Many years of experience has taught Mary Eliza to anticipate patient needs and identify subtle changes in patient conditions. Her mornings start with full assessments of each of her patients while discussing the plan of care for the day with her patient and their family or caregiver at the bedside. This approach enables Mary Eliza to discover changes in patient conditions and provide early intervention.

A bone marrow transplant patient that Mary Eliza was taking care of during the day shift. She noticed a slight change in breath sounds leading her to determine that her patient was fluid overloaded and needed immediate attention. She acted without hesitation, calling a Rapid Response, and initiated transfer to the PICU. She strongly advocated for her patient and she continues to provide a calm and rational voice to help patients and their families navigate the often treacherous waters of pediatric oncology.

Mary Eliza is always on alert for changing situations. On one particular day she was walking by the pediatric inpatient playroom and noticed a young male patient in a chair having a seizure. She quickly acted, lowering the patient to floor on his side and ensuring his safety while calling for help. She facilitated an emergent code for this patient and coordinated his transfer to the PICU.

Another example of Mary Eliza's keen eye for quick assessment and fast action occurred
when she was on her lunch break. She went to the outpatient clinic to visit a patient she had cared for, and on the way over she noticed a baby in a stroller that was cyanotic. She jumped into action, carried the baby to the closest exam room and called a code. Due to her recognition of an emergent situation, and initiating immediate medical intervention, the baby was successfully resuscitated.

When Mary Eliza began her career on pediatrics she entered a culture of shared governance and family centered care, the pediatric practice model adopted in 1989. As she moved up the clinical ladder within that practice model she always gravitated toward education, including patients, their families and staff. As our Magnet Champion for Inpatient Pediatrics, she helped develop the M9 Magnet Journey bulletin board which tracks the goals and progress for our unit to reach our Magnet goal. She continuously rallies the staff to improve all standards of Relationship Based Care within the Professional Practice Model. She believes whole heartedly that we can always improve upon our way of thinking and our core practice. She readily adapts to change and encourages her co-workers to do the same with positive reinforcement. Through her optimism and enthusiasm, she challenges herself and those around her to embrace changing clinical practices in order to provide optimal patient care. She has been a strong supporter of our goal of transitioning to bedside reporting, and does so by example and encouraging the nursing staff to do the same.

Mary Eliza is well known for jumping in and problem solving and is without a doubt sought out as a leader by peers. She is always looking for ways to improve patient care while ensuring staff satisfaction. When it became apparent that our system of reporting and assigning patients was not done in a timely manner, she organized an informal task force. She led discussions, interviewed staff members and set up anonymous surveys. She then helped develop a morning briefing with an acuity system that made it easy for primary nurses to

ensure their assignments were appropriate for patients to receive quality care. This system ensured a more efficient patient assignment while leaving plenty of time for bedside report. With her leadership, the acuity system of patient assignment was in place for both the day and night shift, and she was the first nurse to insist that she receive patient reports at the bedside. She continues to encourage the rest of the nursing staff to do the same, and explaining that it is ultimately for the patients' safety and satisfaction to be included in the hand-off process.

As a mentor, Mary Eliza excels in maintaining a collegiate work environment. Having a supportive work environment is crucial to the success of our nursing team, especially in the setting of pediatric oncology. She puts forth the same effort in creating relationships with her colleagues as she does with her patients. She recognizes individual needs and goes out of her way to ensure the success of new members to the staff. She realized when a new nurse was not assimilating well to the unit and mentored her for well over a year. She would meet with the new nurse informally to discuss individual circumstances, give constructive feedback and provide encouragement.

Mary Eliza is the ideal preceptor. She fosters a trusting relationship and provides a therapeutic learning environment. During this award application process, her orientees were eager to provide testimonials and anecdotes in support of their preceptor.

"While allowing me to think for myself she was always by my side when I needed reassurance. You can always find that Mary Eliza is willing to lend a helping hand in emergencies, while remaining cool, calm, and collective. As a preceptor she exposed me to many different cultures through various stages of care, including the end of life. Mary Eliza taught me to be a culturally sensitive nurse, her training has molded me into the nurse I am today. Mary Eliza is the definition of a team player."

"I was fortunate to have Mary Eliza as my preceptor right out of nursing school. She was not only professional, but emotionally invested in my success as a new RN. She was always approachable, even in the toughest situations, and always handled things with poise. During my orientation I was faced with a patient who was at the end of life. I saw the compassion and connection she had with her patient, as well as her skill at being able to walk me through a difficult time that happens all too often in this profession. She was always calm, even in the
most extreme situations. To this day I use many of the skills she exemplified during that time, both on an emotional level when dealing with difficult conversations with my patients and on a professional level of doing the day to day tasks at MSKCC. She deserves to be honored for so many years of leading not just me, but many others. Although hard at times, this job is one of the most rewarding things I have done in my life and I was lucky to have such a strong mentor from the beginning."

"Mary Eliza is am example of an outstanding nurse. During my orientation at MSKCC, she taught me how to exemplify compassion and patience in challenging situations. Whether it be easing a families nerves about their child's condition, educating a patient on the importance of ambulating after surgery, or simply rubbing a child's back after throwing up, Mary Eliza is dedicated to 100% to what she loves, nursing. As a new nurse, everyday, I try to incorporate what I learned from Mary Eliza in order to effectively advocate and educate my patients. She has become my mentor. Her phenomenal nursing skills, compassion, and dedication is what all nurses should strive for."

"Mary Eliza McEachen is what I'd like to call a rare breed of nurse. Her natural brightness coupled with her amazing sense of professionalism truly puts her at a notch above the rest. She cares for all her patients compassionately and completely, giving the best of her skill set and her heart to all of her patients without bias. I consider myself very fortunate to have been precepted by Mary Eliza. As a brand new grad arriving at Sloan almost three short years ago, I came in with an eagerness to learn but also terrified of not being good enough. Every day that I got to work with Mary Eliza, I instantly felt at home. She was in more ways than one my champion and my strength. She not only taught me the essentials of what it means to be a great nurse, but did so with the utmost patience and kindness, truly erasing my weaknesses with constructive criticisms and enabling my strengths to shine. She taught me how to be a well rounded nurse, not only immersed in the clinical situations of my patients, but how to dig deeper and touch their hearts. She immerses herself so much in the lives of her patients that when caring for a family of Jewish religious background, she ran up the stairs during an emergency so as to respect the rules of Shabbos, all the while forgetting that she herself was Christian. She is a "give it all" kind of nurse, through and through, and I consider myself blessed to have had such an amazing mentor. I only hope to one day live up to all she has taught me. She is outstanding."

One of Mary Eliza's recent primary patients faced many challenges while on the unit for six months. This patient family's complicated social history and limited financial means played a significant role in the management of her care. Despite many social challenges, Mary Eliza advocated for this patient and provided care that was comprehensive, therapeutic, and nurturing through an ongoing collaboration between Nursing, Medicine, Social Work, Psychiatry, Nutrition, Child Life, and Integrative Medicine. By utilizing her coordination and communication skills amongst the healthcare continuum, Mary Eliza demonstrated exemplary patient advocacy.

Another example of Mary Eliza facilitating effective communication in response to patient needs is when she planned and coordinated care with the parents of one of her patients who were unable to stay for the Sabbath. Mary Eliza coordinated with the nursing and medical team to fax updates and lab results on the Sabbath so her patient's parents could stay in observance but also advocated for her patient by being culturally sensitive.

Mary Eliza arrives to work each morning with a positive attitude and willingness to work. Her pleasant demeanor and impeccable work ethic is acknowledged and appreciated by all members of MSK staff as well as our beloved patients and their families.

Mary Eliza is proud to be a Memorial RN, and she proves this in all that she has achieved and continues to strive toward in her career. Mary Eliza has been active in MSKCC's road to Magnet Recognition, and she represents the nursing staff of Pediatric Oncology on M9; she embodies the confidence and grace necessary to embrace change and professional growth.

Mary Eliza reports back to our unit with valuable information, giving praise as well as advice and ideas on how we can improve our unit. She communicates with all staff, bridging gaps between night and day nurses, practitioners and ancillary staff. Mary Eliza sees no boundaries; she fosters a respectful work environment using teamwork to achieve quality patient care. All of the staff on M9 considers Mary Eliza our biggest advocate; she is a constant source of support and encouragement. She never fails to be the first to volunteer to precept a new nurse or care for a particularly challenging patient, and always does so with a bright smile and an eager attitude. Mary Eliza is a member of the national Association of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses and holds the certification in her specialty. She has encouraged and motivated other nurses to do the same.

In addition to the work Mary Eliza does at MSKCC she is also a volunteer for the organization, Half the Sky in Summit NJ. The organization's goal is to ignite change that will end oppression of women and girls worldwide. She helps raise money as well as awareness for women's issues. At the most recent local presentation "Women We Admire" for International Women's Day she volunteered to help with the set up and clean up for the presentation.

Mary Eliza possesses excellent interpersonal skills. She communicates exceptionally well with patients, families and all members of the healthcare team. In her role, she manages to function as a liaison between the medical staff, ancillary services and families who are often in crisis.

Mary Eliza's most admirable quality is her unrelenting dedication to the children she cares for. Mary Eliza is a hard worker, and comes to the unit each day and gives 100% of herself to her patients and colleagues.

It is through patient care that we truly see Mary Eliza shine. Her compassion is evident in her heartfelt actions and words of support that she selflessly offers to our children and their families. She consistently goes above and beyond to provide the best possible patient care to those who need it most. Mary Eliza is a shining star on our unit, a true model of exceptional nursing care at MSKCC.