Tiffany Holtkamp
April 2023
Tiffany
Holtkamp
,
RN
Labor and Delivery
Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center West Burlington
West Burlington
,
IA
United States
She was a key reason for such a wonderful delivery experience
This was the first time that my wife and I were delivering our baby here at this hospital. My wife and I had just recently moved to Iowa so that I could take a job here in town and, naturally, we were a bit anxious not knowing this community of health care workers, especially in OB. From the beginning, Tiffany was very helpful, present, and dedicated to our long-term care, even past her designated shift and into the next day when my wife and I were not one of her patients. An example was when our nurse that helped us deliver our baby texted Tiffany to tell her we were complete and Tiffany wrote back, "I am at Wal-Mart, I should come back in" (her shift had ended, and she had left the building). The following day, we did not have Tiffany as our nurse, but she made it a point to stop in after her busy day delivering other babies to say hi to us and to meet our new son. My wife shared several stories with me on how wonderful Tiffany was while my wife prepared for labor. Two that stand out demonstrate Tiffany’s humble nature and her dedication to her craft and they are as follows: Tiffany kept my wife moving, exercising, and on a schedule so that 1) my wife felt active in her delivery process and 2) aided her in delivering faster. This was later qualified when our midwife stated, "Wow, I never expected you to be this far along". my wife pointed to Tiffany for the credit. Tiffany was often performing tasks that were, according to my wife, humbling in nature; such tasks involved my wife being in vulnerable positions and situations such situations were not too big for Tiffany as she made my wife feel safe, valued, and protected. Her coworkers had glowing remarks about her, the aid for the floor stated, "Tiffany has such a big heart. I know her even outside of work and she has the same character there too". During this shift, Tiffany had a trainee and often demonstrated patience, kindness, helpfulness, and space for this new nurse to learn by allowing her to take charge of certain tasks. I could go on, but to summarize, Tiffany embodies the spirit of health care and the profession of nursing by providing exceptional care, service, passion and sacrifice. My wife stated, "She was a key reason for such a wonderful delivery experience".