Cassandra Michael
April 2013
Cassandra
Michael
,
RN
Med-Surg-Ventilators
St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center
Syracuse
,
NY
United States
Cassandra has been a RN on 1-4 (med-surg-vent) since 10/2011 after graduation from SJHHC CON. She has transitioned from a novice nurse to a confident, empowered primary nurse working mainly all nights in the year and a half she has been a member of the 1-4 staff. She has grown in her ability to manage a group of complex medical surgical patients, providing physical care and assessing and intervening as needed.
We were able to teach her how to perform clinical procedures, administer medications, use our documentation programs and a myriad of other technical skills. What we didn't have to teach Cassandra was how to genuinely care and connect with patients. She always has been able to reach a patient at the most basic emotional level to let them know that she is there for them, understands their situation and never lets go of hope.
When I was rounding on patients, I met a patient who wanted to share with me her story of how the night nurse spent extra time with her and made her much less anxious than what she had been. The patient was scheduled for possible surgery that day as an add-on, and had no prior experience with the surgeon nor the hospital and had past bad hospital experiences. Cassandra took the time to sit with the patient in the middle of the night to talk about what she could expect and how we would care for her after the procedure. She assured the patient we would do everything we could to keep her comfortable and anxiety free. As their conversation continued, the patient shared details of her personal life with Cassandra that also contributed to her stress level. Cassandra was able to help the patient put things in perspective and feel that she was ready for the anticipated surgery and would be well taken care of after.
When I asked the patient if she would like to recognize Cassandra, she was very happy to nominate her for the DAISY Award. The patient felt that Cassandra was a blessing to her and exemplified our mission values in action. She is a nurse who brings an awareness of the patients' emotional and spiritual needs to the bedside. The patient who nominated her summed it up by saying that Cassandra "brings a servant's heart to her job, and for that we are fortunate she practices here on our unit."
We were able to teach her how to perform clinical procedures, administer medications, use our documentation programs and a myriad of other technical skills. What we didn't have to teach Cassandra was how to genuinely care and connect with patients. She always has been able to reach a patient at the most basic emotional level to let them know that she is there for them, understands their situation and never lets go of hope.
When I was rounding on patients, I met a patient who wanted to share with me her story of how the night nurse spent extra time with her and made her much less anxious than what she had been. The patient was scheduled for possible surgery that day as an add-on, and had no prior experience with the surgeon nor the hospital and had past bad hospital experiences. Cassandra took the time to sit with the patient in the middle of the night to talk about what she could expect and how we would care for her after the procedure. She assured the patient we would do everything we could to keep her comfortable and anxiety free. As their conversation continued, the patient shared details of her personal life with Cassandra that also contributed to her stress level. Cassandra was able to help the patient put things in perspective and feel that she was ready for the anticipated surgery and would be well taken care of after.
When I asked the patient if she would like to recognize Cassandra, she was very happy to nominate her for the DAISY Award. The patient felt that Cassandra was a blessing to her and exemplified our mission values in action. She is a nurse who brings an awareness of the patients' emotional and spiritual needs to the bedside. The patient who nominated her summed it up by saying that Cassandra "brings a servant's heart to her job, and for that we are fortunate she practices here on our unit."