For the last seven months I have shared a primary with Melanie and have had the privilege of watching her provide exceptional care for him throughout his complicated hospital course. Melanie strived to be, and exceeded, at being a bridge between the patient's family and our medical team. She worked diligently to explain complex medical terms and diagnoses in ways that the family could understand. She was extremely patient when answering questions, listening to the concerns of his parents, and addressing those concerns head-on.

She was an exceptional advocate for not only her patient, but also his family. For example, this particular family had several different cultural and spiritual beliefs they wished to have integrated into their child's care. Melanie always had that at the forefront of her mind when at the bedside. I watched her incorporate acupressure, red light therapy, and other forms of treatment that stemmed from the family's use of Native American healing techniques.

One particular instance that stands out when I think of the way Melanie advocated for her patient was when he was post op from a major surgery. His pain management was an ongoing issue, and Melanie worked tirelessly to make him more comfortable and improve his pain medication management. It was because of this effort that he was able to successfully heal from this procedure and work towards going home. She was an active participant with the interdisciplinary team to work on a discharge plan. She spent several hours providing education to this family to prepare them for discharge. You could actively see his parents become more and more confident in their ability to care for their medically complex child as their discharge date approached.

Melanie showed so much compassion for this patient and his family and it was truly amazing to see the hard work she poured into his care