Sarah has strong clinical skills and is devoted to providing exceptional patient care. She excels in her role as a bedside nurse as she demonstrates the true meaning of a patient advocate. Sarah is a role model to all staff members of the second floor of Advocate Children's Hospital Oak Lawn as she leads by example. She encourages and educates others to utilize evidence-based practices. Not only is she committed to providing quality care as a IPOC and Pyxis superuser, but Sarah also is involved in the Falls Committee and is a Car Seat Champion. Sarah is further enhancing her knowledge of the unit as she is becoming co-lead on performance improvement initiatives. She will also be representing our department as she attends the Nursing Research Symposium. Sarah is a strong team player and takes initiative to assist other staff members. She is approachable to all, flexible with her schedule and assignments, and will be trained as a charge nurse soon.

Sarah utilizes a holistic approach as she maintains the patients' highest comfort levels and best interests. She completes her work in a timely manner and independently prioritizes and cares for the most complex patients on our unit. Sarah is very thorough and pays attention to details. She recognizes subtle changes in patients' conditions early and immediately informs the appropriate individuals accordingly. Sarah is self-directed and takes an active role in striving for excellence and achieving satisfying patient results. She maintains a calm composure and puts patients and family members at ease in all situations. Sarah commits herself to following the Behaviors of Excellence and is very respectful of others. Sarah consistently practices the BE SAFE behaviors. She has a questioning attitude in unclear situations and utilizes the chain of command as needed. Sarah communicates clearly with the multidisciplinary staff members to ensure the patients' plans of care are properly followed. She is an advocate for promoting patients' safety as she reports potential and actual safety events and holds others accountable to do the same.

Sarah individualizes all her care and provides optimal learning environments for her patients and families. She was assigned to a patient whose parents needed NG teaching. The parents presented a challenge as they were developmentally delayed and frequently put on the call light. Sarah continued to encourage the frustrated parents, who had difficulty with understanding the procedure. She calmly presented the information in several different ways to ensure they were fully informed. Sarah also gently reminded them of the instructions they had a hard time grasping. Despite her busy assignment, Sarah made sure to have the time the family needed for education. The family could independently care for their child because of Sarah's persistence.

She is also recognized by many patients and families for her excellent care and compassion. For example, Sarah was assigned to a 1-year old patient who had a cardiac disease and was extremely irritable and scared of staff. The patient's mom verbalized that the patient responded the best to Sarah and her gentle touch and voice. The patient actually calmed more with Sarah's presence instead of becoming more agitated.

Because of Sarah's excellent compassion, persistence, collaboration, and assessment skills, she is a DAISY Nurse. She continues to grow as a patient advocate and team player. Her positive attitude, hard work, and dedication has positively affected nursing care and fostered growth on our unit.