Nicole was recognized by a colleague for going above and beyond to care for her small sick patients, the families, and even the staff.
On the first occasion, Nicole was working with a family and the parent's behavior started to escalate to the point that the situation could have become dangerous. Nicole called for the chaplain to come. As is often the case the chaplain, I believe, was "hand-selected" by God to be the one tending to the family as he had just the skill set needed to effectively deal with the parent. With the help of Nicole and others, the parent calmed down and the situation was averted. I overheard Nicole and chaplain debriefing after the incident. In her enthusiastic and genuine way she said, "Chaplain, you were a rock star in there!" It warmed my heart to hear one of my department's staff be offered such affirming words of encouragement from Nicole.
On the second occasion, I was the chaplain called by Nicole to comfort the parent who was receiving one word after another of bad news for her baby. The parent was very reluctant to agree to a procedure that staff felt the patient really needed. Nicole said, "Let me talk to her." Nicole described in very simple terms why she believed the procedure was needed and was transparent enough with the parent to admit that not doing the procedure was causing Nicole to be anxious about caring for the patient. On more than one occasion I heard Nicole reassure the parent by saying, "You know that even if it is hard for me I will always tell you the truth."
But the most tender part of this episode was that there were many well-meant caregivers, including me, trying to get the mother to eat something for which she always declined. Nicole excused herself from the area and came back a short time later. In her hands, she had a snack for herself and the same snack for the parent. Nicole said to the mother, "This has been a very rough day and I need to eat something. I brought you what I am eating and hope that you will eat something with me as I need to refuel for a minute." With that, the mother agreed and ate the snack.
Peanut butter and jelly, who knew that our mission and values could be lived out sharing a quiet moment together with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Yet Nicole tended to this parent in the same loving yet simple way that she tended to herself. This young RN is a living example of the values and mission that we strive to achieve every day at SSM Health Cardinal Glennon.