Vangie is described as "thoughtful, warm, informative, and skillful by one of the patients she took care of".
Another patient wrote "Her warmth and caring disposition makes her an amazing nurse and caregiver. She shared her experience and gave me the confidence to continue being strong".
Another patient stated she had a wonderful experience because she makes a scary procedure feel like "a bump".
A son of the patient wrote "I felt so good knowing that my mom was in her care and was given a lot of personal attention". This patient stayed with us for 8 hours and would otherwise have been very upset because there was no bed available in the entire hospital.
One of the patients Vangie took care of left the hard copy of the discharge instructions in the discharge area. Her duty as a nurse doesn't seem to be confined to the hospital. She took the initiative to go to the patient's house and personally hand delivered the instruction sheet to make sure the patient got the follow up care that she needed. Of course, this took the patient by surprise.
Patients going for surgery come with a lot of fear of the outcome and findings after surgery, fear of disfigurement and fear of loss of control while under anesthesia and loss of bodily function. Vangie's reassuring and professional conduct helps patients overcome these fears and anxieties. I highly commend her for the hard work she does in the PACU Phase II AKA discharge area. This is the most challenging area in our unit where patients are getting ready for discharge. This area is most usually the segment where patient remember most of their outpatient hospital stay. This is where the proficiency and expertise of Evangeline, is mostly recognized and acknowledged by her patients.
From the peri-operative unit point of view Evangeline is an outstanding team player. She exudes this positive attitude towards work. She is very resourceful and always attempts to make small positive changes that impact our nursing practice to improve our department scores at the regional level.
Tirelessly, every day, Vangie takes the assignment for our postoperative call. This is a process improvement in our unit which she initiated. She assigns us to call the same patient we took care of the day before. This new process enhances continuity of care and the patient is able to remember the name of the nurse who took care of them and that they feel special and more appreciated. Even before the new medication side effect bundle came out, Vangie created and printed out all the commonly used drugs that our patients are prescribed upon discharge. This handout includes the drugs, action, and interaction with food and other medications and common side effects. It is a very important tool which was utilized by all the discharge RNs in our area.
Her patience, flexibility and her good sense of humor makes a very hectic day in the PACU feel like a breeze when she is working. She has the initiative to lend a helping hand to anyone who needs her assistance when she's not busy in the post-op area.
Vangie is a vibrant motivational speaker. The most important thing we learn from her is "change should come from within us." We work in a unique area. We only have a small window of opportunity to be recognized by the patients for the work we do. This window of opportunity can either be a day, half a day or a just a moment in time. Like the lens of the camera, Vangie sharply focuses and captures these short significant moments to make a difference in our patients' lives and make their hospital experience less terrifying. She is truly a positive asset to our unit.