Tashina Clinton is the definition of what a nurse is supposed to be. Her hard work, compassion, and dedication to the veterans, their families, and her co-workers is inspiring. The qualities that are defined by ICARE happen to be the very values that serve as the foundation to her practice. Tashina has strong moral principles and is not afraid to stand up for her veterans, especially those who haven't found their voice just yet.
To say she Advocates with Integrity would be an understatement. Her Commitment to our nation's heroes is second to none. Each one of them holds a special place in her heart and the Respect she has for them can be easily seen by all that see her in action. It is safe to say that her Excellence is both admired and needed within this facility. Her work ethic and strong leadership makes the floor a better place for not just the patients and their families but for the staff as well. Tashina is such a team player and really does a remarkable job bringing the staff together even on some of the hardest days. I am both proud and honored to be able to speak about this from a personal standpoint because working with Tashina and seeing her impact on this veteran population has not only pushed me to be a better nurse, but has helped make me a better person.

We nurses can be put in very emotionally taxing and ethically challenging positions each and every day. How we handle them makes all the difference in the world to not only our practice but to our patients. I could speak on behalf of Tashina for multiple patient interactions that would satisfy this criteria, but there was one recent event that has stuck with me, and is one in which I believe she is more than a well-deserving candidate for this prestigious recognition.
Recently, Tashina was caring for a veteran who was newly diagnosed with a seizure disorder, one that was severe enough where the medical team along with the Case Managers had to put in for the veteran's driver's license to be revoked. Based on the prognosis of the condition, the veteran would never be considered medically stable enough to operate a vehicle. If this isn't bad enough, the veteran did not see this coming and when the team and case managers came into break the news to him they also explained to him that he would be discharged home in a few hours and they already called his son to come and pick him up. The veteran quickly became very distraught and anxious due to his new living situation. The veteran vocalized that he lives alone since he was recently widowed and his closest family member was over 40 minutes from him. He was pacing around the room trying to figure out how he would go grocery shopping and run errands now. The veteran was a very independent man and not very old at all, and in the blink of an eye he felt that his freedom was taken right from under him. I happened to answer the call light when this patient called out to express his disbelief.
After hearing this information, I decided to go speak to Tashina and inform her of the recent changes with her patient. Tashina immediately went in to talk to the patient about what was happening and check to see how he was doing personally. Even though Tashina had a full patient load and was right in the middle of a very busy afternoon, she spent over an hour straight with the patient providing therapeutic communication and emotional support. She then spoke with the social workers and the patient advocate on the floor to compile a list of different resources in the community along with paratransit that could help this veteran maintain his independence. Tashina also spoke to both the veteran and his son when he arrived to provide more reassurance and also to inform him of the resources that are out there to help aid his father. Tashina was able to not only provide this veteran with emotional support and reassurance but helped gather resources that would benefit him out in the community. This man was so grateful and also was completely comfortable with being discharged even though just 3 hours before he couldn't even fathom the idea of leaving the facility with his current prognosis.
Tashina used her Morals and Integrity, and Committed herself to Advocate for this veteran's needs by hearing and Respecting his concerns enough to fight to make them right prior to him leaving the hospital. Tashina exemplifies what Nursing Excellence truly is and what it really means to be a VA Nurse.