Vanessa Pugh
July 2022
Vanessa
Pugh
,
MSN, BSN, RN, CCRN
Surgical Intensive Care Unit
Atrium Health
Charlotte
,
NC
United States

 

 

 

I cried out of gratitude for the compassion and empathy shown, which went above and beyond allowing me to process a difficult situation.
After years of struggling with infertility and multiple procedures and appointments, hope and loss, my husband and I decided to pursue IVF which requires lots of early morning appointments and lab draws. On the days of my appointments, Vanessa would come in early to help cover the charge role while the charge nurse cared for my patients until I could get to the unit, demonstrating commitment and teamwork that far exceeds what I would expect of a manager. Unfortunately, our IVF failed, and I was scheduled to work the day after we found out. That morning I woke up to a message telling me to stay home. I expected to be called in when the OR case finished, but as the day grew later, I realized Vanessa stepped in again. She had come out of the office to act as charge nurse allowing me to stay home with my husband to process and grieve the failed embryo transfer. I cried out of gratitude for the compassion and empathy shown, which went above and beyond allowing me to process a difficult situation.