My father presented to the Roudebush VA Medical Center Emergency Department with chest pain and coughing up blood. He was admitted to the Step-Down unit. While he had several nurses, one of the particular nurses, Billy Gill went above and beyond in caring for my father.
He was his nurse on more than one occasion during his stay. He has treated not only my father but myself and other family members with utmost respect and ensured that not only my father's stay was comfortable, but all of the family's needs were being met as well.
He took initiative and was pro-active in ensuring that the highest level of care was being rendered. He was extremely responsive and ensured that needs were being met.
Due to his calm and confident demeanor, we knew that my father was well cared for. It is evident that Billy has a great passion in not only being a nurse but also caring for the nation's heroes.
Knowing my father was going to be going in for a heart catheterization was worrisome for us since he had several underlying issues. Billy (along with other clinicians) was able to talk to us and he was able to allay any fears and worries that we had.
During the entire waiting period, Billy continually communicated with us about my father's medical status. When it was time for my father to go to the Cath Lab, Billy was right there for us and said he would be waiting for us to get back. In an unfortunate turn of events, a Code Blue was called in the cath lab (luckily, he survived with no ill effects) and the procedure was aborted as a result. He was then transferred to MICU. When we went to the room to get our belongings to move to the new room, Billy had already done it.
Being a nurse is more than just physically taking care of patients. The technical aspect of taking care of patients as a nurse is just the start and can be learned via schooling; however, the compassionate heart of nurses like Billy is a special calling that can't be taught.