Rima Liascauskait came to Oncology through the New Grad Program after being trained in another department. However, when I first met her, I knew she was destined to be an oncology nurse and we worked to provide opportunities that would enhance her learning as well as develop her clinical skills. Rima is always open to learning and always asking for feedback so that she can continue to grow and is not afraid to be vulnerable even for her patients. Rima is a great employee, always dependable and a great team player.
As I complete my Leadership Rounds daily, Rima seems to get the most recognition from all of the patients that she has taken care of. I know Rima very well and so I was not surprised. The recognitions were consistent across the board regardless of age, gender, or diagnosis. Her patients wanted her to be recognized as she possesses all the qualities that a DAISY Nurse has. These are some of the comments from her patients:
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Many days were spent with a lot of time in pain because I was embarrassed to ask for my pain medication because of how I felt everyone would look at me, and then comes in my 'DAISY.' Ms. Rima was a breath of fresh air. She motivated me. Instead of talking to me like every breath was wasted, she showed me she cared. She gave me hope. She would ask me about my life, my kids... the important things. She made life matter to me again, by her simple acts of kindness and her heartfelt words. Not once did I feel judged or put down. She represents a true nurse who took an oath to show compassion, excellence, to deliver nursing care non-judgmentally, to be respectful and caring. She does an extraordinary job and I am incredibly grateful for each night she works, especially on the nights she is my nurse.
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I had Rima as my nurse last night, and I know she had other patients, but I felt as if I was her only patient. I did not need to call her for anything - she was always there. She is very caring and wanted to make sure that all of my needs were taken care of. We had a plan and she followed through on everything. I really miss her already.
At bedside report this morning, Rima made sure that the nurse knew everything about me. She also let me know that she would be back tonight, so I am patiently awaiting her return as she made me feel more human than being a patient.
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Another patient was just admitted and wanted to know if Rima was working and would it be possible for her to be her nurse tonight - I told her Rima was working but could not guarantee that she would be her nurse. When I then inquired why it was so important for her to have Rima caring for her, she told me that Rima took care of her 3 months ago along with many different staff but Rima was so attentive to her needs as that was her first time in the hospital, she felt very safe and well cared for and wanted to see Rima again to thank her for the care she provided.
While all of our nurses go above and beyond to provide high-quality care, Rima has the special talent of connecting with her patients on a personal level by providing relationship-based care. She is very empathetic and is often seen comforting patients and families during difficult times. In listening to all of the patients as they rave about Rima, I thought of the Maya Angelo quote: "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." Rima is truly a gem and a great asset to our team.