It isn't hard to imagine that you can get through any situation alongside a team player. Sam is a team player through and through. I have had the pleasure to work with Sam on numerous occasions now on the COVID ICU. Prior to today, she has always been in the charge nurse role, so her leadership and work ethic are consistently above and beyond any expectation.
Today I got to witness Sam work as a bedside nurse, which was even more impressive than her charge nurse role. She not only provided care to her own critically ill patient, but she also spent numerous hours in other patient's rooms helping with anything and everything that was needed. One of her coworkers had a particularly trying day. Sam saw that she could lend a hand to ease some of their workload. She didn't even ask if the nurse needed help, she simply just jumped in and started helping!
As the patient ultimately was moved to comfort care, she helped the bedside nurse arrange for the family to see the patient. Sam graciously stayed in that one room, that was not assigned to her, for TWO HOURS. For half of that time, she acted as a human desk and held an iPad in front of the dying patient so the family could say goodbye from afar. After the passing of the patient, Sam stayed in the room to help clean up as well as assist with postmortem care of the body.
The time she spent in this particular room did not take her attention away from her assigned patient. She knew exactly when medications were due when the patient needed to be turned and delegated those tasks appropriately. After the hustle and bustle of the afternoon had settled, I watched as Sam approached her coworker to check in on her emotional state after a tough loss of a patient. She proceeded to encourage this coworker by congratulating her on a job well done.
Sam is a true leader and deserves much recognition for her work and dedication!