Sharon Rees consistently provides remarkable patient experiences and demonstrating excellence through her clinical expertise, extraordinary compassionate care, and nursing leadership.
As a nurse navigator, I am privileged to see the compassionate care provided by oncology nurses. When I review the nurses who stand out the most for consistently providing excellent care, Sharon always comes to mind. Sharon is not just a charge nurse. She demonstrates to her nursing team the manifestation of care driven from the heart. She treats patients and staff like they are family and she chooses to do that every single day of work (and outside work). Sharon has the gift of inspiring others to mimic her sympathetic behavior.
I want to share a personal example of Sharon's compassion. I was diagnosed with cancer in 2016 and had a very rough year. Throughout that year, I had to go on FMLA and did not see my coworkers at Loma Linda Murrieta for about 5 months. This was especially difficult because I have no family close by and they were my main support system. It was also difficult being an oncology nurse who had cancer and couldn't help myself. During those 5 months, Sharon routinely reached out to me to see if I was OK. She helped me with the most personal issues I didn't want to share with anyone and she did it in such a gentle manner as to not offend. She asked the difficult questions and treated me more like family than a coworker. She made it a point to get me out of my house so I did not get depressed and was reminded that people love and support me. She went as far as giving me her personal, pocket-size cross to remind me of my faith and the fact that the Lord is always with me.
I am honored to see Sharon provide that level of empathetic care to the patients she serves. One might think that the charge nurse rarely sees patients because he/she is so busy with the "managerial" part of running a unit for the shift. I have to tell you that Sharon makes it a point to know the patients on the unit, especially those who need her tender, loving, care. She demonstrates the compassionate love of Christ on a regular basis. Her team is willing to set aside issues and follow suit with providing wonderful, heartfelt care to patients coming to their unit at Loma Linda Murrieta. The patient experience does not go unvalued or come second to the provision of care. Sharon constantly thinks of ways to improve the patient's stay whether it is moving them to a room away from the station so it is quiet or providing an environment that is calm and peaceful for a patient to pass away-even if that means she provides care alongside the busy RN so quality time can be spent with that patient and family. Sharon leads by example and is a true DAISY Nurse.