As a bedside nurse Sally has great interpersonal skills with fellow nurses, doctors and families. She establishes a special connection with families and keeps anxious and confused parents at ease in an environment that is very scary and intimidating to patients' parents. She collaborates with the health care team to meet patient's needs.
Sally exemplifies all the skills and knowledge above and beyond what is expected of her. In addition to her clinical duties, Sally is very active with Quality Improvement projects. She helps the neonatologists implement projects to help improve the quality of care of our tiniest and most fragile patients.
Sally is a very cheerful person, always has this positive attitude when she comes to work. She tends to energize and stimulates the mood when there is stress in the unit. Sally engages with families and makes their day when things are not going so well with the babies. Sally is always there for anyone who needs help. She is the person you want to be with in times of stress.
What I wanted to share is her positive attitude and professionalism in the work environment. It was a busy weekend in the NICU. With sick babies already in the unit, there were early mothers who are delivering soon. In addition, there was a transport that was coming from one of our referral hospitals and the baby was critical. Instead of getting stressed and fretting that there were only two of us taking care of the babies, she diffused my stress. She stayed and helped get those babies admitted and placed central lines for access, even if it meant staying late. It meant a lot to me because she was not told to stay and I was able to direct my time and attention to taking care of sick babies.
For me as a physician, having good team work meant a lot. With Sally staying those extra hours was a small moment that had a deep impact on me, to all nursing staff and families.