I have come to know Sami for the past year and a half as her supervisor. She has been a wonderful addition to our Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehab Team. She is proactive with her patient care, always works to find resources for patients, follows best practices and is an engaging team member.
When we started to see cases of COVID-19 in our area, Sami approached me to offer her skills to help out in other areas. This was of no surprise as she had already been picking up extra shifts in the ED, but also at a time where others in the department were leary and less willing to step into other roles. Sami became a champion in our department during this pandemic. She was positive and encouraging to other team members and led by example by offering to work off shifts and holidays. She has helped to cover last-minute shifts and stayed late when care was needed and has been flexible moving between inpatient units. In addition, she raised her hand to work to advance her skills to care for vented COVID patients. During the pandemic time she worked in the ED, ICU, and on multiple inpatient units.
Sami continues to demonstrate teamwork and flexibility by regularly working in our pre-procedure COVID testing area and has been covering in the cath lab as well. She recently gave up two days of her PTO to cover a need in the cath lab, including coverage during an unexpected need for covering calls. This led to a late night in the cath lab.
A recent message from a patient's daughter reads: "You made my mom's day, the other day she saw you when she had to get COVID testing. She suffers from really bad anxiety, so she was super nervous and scared when she had to go get tested. But when she saw you, she said she was put at ease and wasn't so scared anymore. Thank you."
Sami is a true DAISY Nurse for her teamwork, flexibility, and dedication to compassionate care.