Sandra Amador
January 2013
Sandra
Amador
,
DNP, ARNP-C, BC
Medical Surgical
Baptist Hospital of Miami
Miami
,
FL
United States
It is a pleasure for me to submit the name of Dr. Sandra Amador for the DAISY Award. After you have had an opportunity to peruse her curriculum vitae, I am sure that you will concur with me that her outstanding contributions to the nursing profession and her exceptional dedication to the particular needs of patients and to the overall quality of nursing care make her an exceptional candidate for this award. She has been recognized on numerous occasions by her patients, her peers, and her employer.
On countless times I have witnessed her ability to encourage patients not to give up on life. At times patients feel completely burnout from there whole journey of medical illness. Sandy has helped so many patients deal with there illness while still supporting the upswings of emotions and pain that come along with it. Her continued act of love and kindness told me that she genuinely cares what happens to her patients. On numerous occasions she has stayed hours after her shift ended, to comfort the families and at times ease their loved ones passing. Sandy has stern professional skill and knowledge, but how she goes about delivering that competency is a gift to the patient and the family as well as the employees she works with.
...When a young patient found out she had metastatic cancer Sandy sat and talked at length with the patient and contacted social work and a chaplain immediately. Sandy shows empathy in all situations. She is unafraid to stand up and or advocate for her patients and their care.
On another occasion while we were hourly rounding on patients, Sandy and I encountered another patient and family. The patient had stated she was a diabetic and had not eaten all day so when she got to the floor from the ER she was able to get some food thanks to her constantly calling dietary. The next day she was to have a cardiac cath and was very nervous because she had almost died with her last angioplasty and during this admission several codes had been called. Sandy arrived into the room and introduced herself, and stated what can I do to make you comfortable and subside some of your fear? She was kind enough to make sure her IV was inserted, that she wasn't to be worried about the cath procedure and she would share the patients story of her last bad experience with the clinical team. She actually took a few moments to get to personally get to know the patient and asked about her family. Sandy assured her that she would be back to care for her and answer any questions after her heart cath and did follow through. That night the patient informed me that Sandy made sure the entire clinical team revisited her to discuss her procedure and address any concerns and thereafter daily visit were made to the patient by Sandy even though was not directly assigned to the patient. Additionally Sandy assured her that she had dinner, with some ice cream and helped her get cleaned up. The patient said her kindness and medical expertise is what helped her fully recover and that she had been in seven different hospitals and NEVER had a more professional caretaker that was easy to talk to, always had a smile and sincerely wanted to make you comfortable.
These are only a very few examples of what Sandy does daily and the compliments we received about her. Sandy does not sit by idle while her co-workers are drowning in work. She steps right in, going above and beyond what is required and asked of her and truly is a team player, mentor, and trainer. Continuously she is compassionate, and very personable with patients, families as well as employees, always finding some common ground in which to bond with them. Her commitment to Baptist as a nurse is well over 13 years and our organization is blessed to have someone who exemplifies excellence in nursing management and whom was one of the very first BHM nurses to receive her doctorate in nursing.
Sandy, advocates for nursing, acts as a role model and mentor to students or colleagues, providing educational service to students, to colleagues or to clients and families, demonstrates excellence in nursing education, demonstrates use of innovative teaching methods,actively involved in professional activities and committees, contributes to the enhancement of nursing knowledge through research, provides individualized nursing care in a respectful and caring manner, consistently applies the nursing process in meeting the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of clients and their families, demonstrates a positive attitude as a member of a health care team.
On countless times I have witnessed her ability to encourage patients not to give up on life. At times patients feel completely burnout from there whole journey of medical illness. Sandy has helped so many patients deal with there illness while still supporting the upswings of emotions and pain that come along with it. Her continued act of love and kindness told me that she genuinely cares what happens to her patients. On numerous occasions she has stayed hours after her shift ended, to comfort the families and at times ease their loved ones passing. Sandy has stern professional skill and knowledge, but how she goes about delivering that competency is a gift to the patient and the family as well as the employees she works with.
...When a young patient found out she had metastatic cancer Sandy sat and talked at length with the patient and contacted social work and a chaplain immediately. Sandy shows empathy in all situations. She is unafraid to stand up and or advocate for her patients and their care.
On another occasion while we were hourly rounding on patients, Sandy and I encountered another patient and family. The patient had stated she was a diabetic and had not eaten all day so when she got to the floor from the ER she was able to get some food thanks to her constantly calling dietary. The next day she was to have a cardiac cath and was very nervous because she had almost died with her last angioplasty and during this admission several codes had been called. Sandy arrived into the room and introduced herself, and stated what can I do to make you comfortable and subside some of your fear? She was kind enough to make sure her IV was inserted, that she wasn't to be worried about the cath procedure and she would share the patients story of her last bad experience with the clinical team. She actually took a few moments to get to personally get to know the patient and asked about her family. Sandy assured her that she would be back to care for her and answer any questions after her heart cath and did follow through. That night the patient informed me that Sandy made sure the entire clinical team revisited her to discuss her procedure and address any concerns and thereafter daily visit were made to the patient by Sandy even though was not directly assigned to the patient. Additionally Sandy assured her that she had dinner, with some ice cream and helped her get cleaned up. The patient said her kindness and medical expertise is what helped her fully recover and that she had been in seven different hospitals and NEVER had a more professional caretaker that was easy to talk to, always had a smile and sincerely wanted to make you comfortable.
These are only a very few examples of what Sandy does daily and the compliments we received about her. Sandy does not sit by idle while her co-workers are drowning in work. She steps right in, going above and beyond what is required and asked of her and truly is a team player, mentor, and trainer. Continuously she is compassionate, and very personable with patients, families as well as employees, always finding some common ground in which to bond with them. Her commitment to Baptist as a nurse is well over 13 years and our organization is blessed to have someone who exemplifies excellence in nursing management and whom was one of the very first BHM nurses to receive her doctorate in nursing.
Sandy, advocates for nursing, acts as a role model and mentor to students or colleagues, providing educational service to students, to colleagues or to clients and families, demonstrates excellence in nursing education, demonstrates use of innovative teaching methods,actively involved in professional activities and committees, contributes to the enhancement of nursing knowledge through research, provides individualized nursing care in a respectful and caring manner, consistently applies the nursing process in meeting the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of clients and their families, demonstrates a positive attitude as a member of a health care team.