Based on her role, it is rare that Stefanie gets much time at the bedside anymore, as we need her for so many other things. As a nurse, I never feel safer than when she is here, and she consistently shows up for her nurses and the patients every shift. An example of this was that we recently had a difficult delivery, and the baby was born with an incredibly low 1-minute APGAR. As soon as the baby was born, the team knew that this baby was going to need resuscitation. We called out for our NICU team to come to the bedside and for extra nurses to help us stabilize the baby while we waited for the NICU team to arrive. We had 2 extra nurses in the room, rapidly helping us stabilize the baby as we were providing breaths for the baby. In the chaos of the moment, I asked the other nurses if they were seeing any chest rise in the baby, as I was not able to see one. The other 2 nurses were doing their part in assisting this baby and did not immediately hear me asking if they saw the chest rise. And from just behind me, I heard confirmation that there was no chest rise. It was Stefanie. She had quietly come into the room to offer support and guidance, however she could.

With her feedback, I was able to reposition the baby and the mask and resume breathing for the baby. Shortly after this, the baby began taking his own breaths, and before NICU had arrived at bedside, we had been able to increase the baby's APGARs from 2 to 9. Stefanie observed without inserting herself and provided quiet support to her team. She not only supported us, but she also trusted us and our skills. At no point did she attempt to move us out of the way to help, even though she had as much experience as all 3 of us combined at the warmer. And to me, that is the definition of a good leader. She supports her team and is there to guide us if we need it. She is there to give feedback. She is there with answers. She is there with encouragement. In fact, when we talked about it later, and I thanked her for coming in, her response was something along the lines of, "You guys were doing your jobs perfectly; there was no need for me to do anything other than be there."

She deserves so much recognition for how she supports and guides this team when she is in charge. Our patients may never really know her name. They may not remember her face. But they benefit from her presence more than they will ever know. We can be the nurses we are at bedside because of the incredible support and guidance Stefanie gives. She isn’t the one holding their hands through labor. But we can only do what we do with confidence because we know that if we need her, she will be there without hesitation.