I have worked with Wendy Severson for more than 6 years. During this period, I have experienced so many events where Wendy's exceptional care has made a huge difference in the lives of the patient and patient's family members.
As you are rounding on very sick ICU and IMC patients, and when you see that Wendy is their nurse, at the back of your mind you know that they will receive excellent nursing care. As you are sitting at the desk, and working on your charts, you can see her going in the patients' rooms and helping them heal. The ICU/IMC can be a very stressful place to work, but I can see Wendy is always smiling and going above and beyond to provide our patients the best care.
Recently, we had a very sick elderly patient in the ICU who was very short of breath and would refuse to wear the BiPAP mask because of his confusion. Wendy has these "special powers" to calm these patients down. She just went close to his ear and said, "Honey…I know you don't like it, but please wear this mask. It will help you breathe."
Wendy is also exemplary in her patient and clinical care. One other event I would like to mention is when one of my elderly patients was about to be discharged, he told her that he could not read the small print of the discharge instructions. I saw Wendy writing down those instructions on a separate sheet with a large font, so that patient could read those instructions. This may sound very trivial, but for that patient, it made a huge difference in his life. This just shows how passionate she is about her work and willing to go that extra mile to help our patients.
Wendy also creates a fun environment as she is working in the ICU. She is always smiling, and I can see her asking others if they need any help with their patient care.
I believe with her exceptional care she has made a huge difference in the lives of lots of patients.