Rachel Baxter, RN

I am a nursing student at King University, and Rachel Baxter was my preceptor in the PICU. We had two patients on this particular day. One of which was an intubated 8-week-old, and the other was a chronically ill toddler with a significant heart diagnosis that also affected her development. During our morning rounds with the physicians and other team members, Rachel showed me what a true nurse should do. Rachel advocated for both of her patients as if they were her own. She knew what would be best for them and emphasized her concerns and priorities. Her advocacy for her patients led us to successfully plan and extubate our 8-week-old patient. I would like to note that this was the first day in ten days that the parents could hold their new baby boy. This type of patient progression continued for the rest of the day. All the while, Rachel was giving excellent and extraordinary care to her patients; I was not forgotten about. I learned so much while being with her. I truly did not want to leave this day. In fact, she changed my perspective about this unit and the intimidation I felt before this clinical day. Rachel made it a point to ask me questions regarding patient care, especially when I was performing it. Her questions were the best way to make a connection from class to clinical practice. She truly is the best nurse I have ever worked with and learned from. I want to be as knowledgeable, patient, caring, and comforting as she is.