This year has been a year of growing pains and change in Women and Children's. Serena Beatty has been such a stable presence here in the NICU, and this is one way that I could think of to demonstrate to her how appreciated her dedication to the unit is. We recently had a situation where a baby was in critical condition, and the NICU team was called upon to complete an extensive resuscitation of this beautiful term infant. I was personally one of the nurses tasked with providing chest compressions and delivering epinephrine during what was a difficult and emotional resuscitation. We were given the opportunity to then participate in a debrief with fellow present staff, as the ones present for the resuscitation. At the same time as being called upon to review what had occurred during a few nights prior, the care of this infant was still in our hands as a NICU team. We assisted the parents in navigating what ultimately became one of the most difficult decisions of their lives, withdrawing care for their precious baby girl as her brain had suffered a great deal of damage through what was a difficult delivery and resuscitation. As a member of the NICU team, my emotions throughout this process shifted from sadness to grief to anger, to confusion, and everything in between, wondering if we had done everything that we could and how we would be able to hold parents' hands through this process.
Serena was so incredibly supportive through such a taxing situation. She stood beside us during the debrief and encouraged us all in the weeks that followed that we had done a great job during the birth and in the weeks that followed. Serena was consistent in checking in with us via text or emails to make sure that we felt supported and directed us to resources available to us like "Care for the Caregiver" for an outlet in discussing the emotions that we were all still processing. She also arranged a grief support debrief with the "Care for the Caregiver" team and made sure that as many of the involved staff were able to attend as possible.
Serena is always extremely encouraging and never afraid to jump in and help. She is one of the first managers that I have seen take a night shift and work when we are understaffed, and not just work, but show up with a smile and laugh for all of her co-workers on the shift. She is honest and transparent, and makes everyone feel like a part of the team, even when I have felt like I stick out like a sore thumb (LOL.) I hope that this DAISY Award can be a token of my appreciation to Serena to let her know that I appreciate how she has made me feel seen and capable as a nurse and how she helped me through a really difficult situation so that I could be a support to the family whose life changed all within a matter of moments.