When you are a hiring manager, you are always hopeful that the person you bring into your Department is a good match in every way. You hope the person gets along well with the team, catches on quickly, is a team player, and most importantly takes excellent care of the patients. Well, we were lucky because Wendy Rodriguez was and is that person. Wendy was hired as a part-time nurse in our cranberry location. She was new to breast surgery, but it was obvious she was not new to patient care. Wendy's first priority is to her patients and taking care of them to the best of her ability. Whether it is staying late to get assessments done or to answer patients' calls or driving to Hermitage for the day to help out so the clinic was not shorthanded, Wendy would do it. She is kind, soft-spoken, and very accommodating as you will see.
We had a new physician start in our practice and while she was without a nurse, we asked Wendy to help out with her team. She did not hesitate. Not only did she help the doctor with her clinic, but she also did the pre-clinic assessments, took phone calls, put in orders and anything else asked of her, all while still doing the same for our cranberry location. Wendy never showed stress if she was feeling it because that is just not who she is. She is always calm and doesn't want to let anyone down. Well, we hired a new nurse and Wendy went back to her team.
Then, we had a nurse on another team leave, so now we are short again and of course, who do we reach out to? This time we pulled Wendy from the cranberry team just to work with doctor S's team since she is only part-time. She has been doing an excellent job once again. She is able to help the other doctor in the clinic and keep her team whole until their new nurse starts.
Wendy has a gentle disposition that helps to keep everyone, including the patients, calm. This trait is especially important when you are a breast cancer patient. There is so much information the patient hears and appointments to keep and Wendy never lets the patient see her stressed or upset because she knows they already have enough of that to deal with due to their diagnosis.
Wendy is kind and goes out of her way to help anyone who needs it. Even when taking a few days off, Wendy is so worried others will contemplate not taking the time off even though she should. She is truly dedicated to her patients and to her team. We are truly lucky to have her in our Department.