I'd been looking for a change and sought advice from someone I looked up to - Rachel Mallory, who is poised, assertive, and projects enthusiasm in all she does. Fast forward, over the past two years, Rachel helped to train me as a circulating nurse in a high-risk department. She can go from speaking casually, to life-saving measures in the same heartbeat.
I've watched her speak to family members about their loved ones in emergency surgery, speaking to them as if she were speaking to her own family members with sincerity and elegance in her words to bring calm during stressful situations. She was the first person I was on an emergency call with, and I could not have managed the wave of tasks without her. She is not only an excellent nurse but a natural leader and executes tasks seamlessly through experience and critical thinking. She is an example of what to do in a department that can go from 0 mph to 100 mph in terms of severity and critical care.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, I watched her keep a 29-year-old patient alive while being transferred from one side of the hospital to the other, underneath many torturous layers of protective gear.
She is now working in the SICU with plans to obtain her CRNA, and I await the day that I see her back in the operating room!
Rachel Mallory is truly a healthcare hero, not just to me but to her son, her husband, her parents, and anyone that is privileged to be around her. I cannot think of anyone who deserves this recognition more than she does.