November 2011
Sylvia
Mitchell
,
RN
Emergency Room
MetroWest Medical Center: Framingham Union Hospital & Leonard Morse Hospital
Framingham
,
MA
United States

 

 

 

Sibby is amazing. Never in my 13 years of nursing have I encountered anyone who so closely reflects every quality a standout nurse should have. She is always forgiving (hard to do in the ED), always kind, always honest, always happy, always gives her best. ALWAYS. Always is a tricky word because so few people always shine. Sibby ALWAYS shines.

There are a handful of people who we will encounter in life who will put you at ease simply by being present. Sibby is among those people. She is a calming presence at the bedside, both for her patients and for those of us assisting in their care. Her voice is controlled and soothing as she explains absolutely everything she does before doing it. She is responsive to the concerns and needs (all of them) of her patients and her colleagues. Even on the rare occasion when she is frustrated, her patients would never know because in their presence she is a picture of serenity. She would likely chuckle if ever she read that.

There are so many things that impress me about Sibby but the standout is something that happens every single day she works, no matter how hectic the day is. Upon discharging her patients I so often see her walking them to the department door, and very often out into the parking lot, with an arm around their shoulder softly reassuring them, offering sage wisdom and answering last minute questions before they depart. So often when we have a patient sign that discharge form it is with a final "See ya. Thanks. There's the door," because we are already focused on the next task or patient ahead. Not Sibby. Her patients have her full attention until they are practically in their car and she has been known to call them on that same day if she was in anyway concerned that they might have a lingering question or just to see how they are feeling. I know for a fact she has stopped by homes before heading home to hers, just to see for herself that all is well. She so often whispers in my ear about her colleagues, "You know, that one is a jewel." That well may be but Sibby is a treasure.