At certain times in our career we observe that something special in an individual. Something that makes them stand out from the crowd. The non-verbal cues of engagement right through to the subtle changes they lead within their area of expertise. The guidance and mentorship displayed to their colleagues. These are the leadership qualities continually displayed by Ms. Ana Raquel Loureiro de Oliveira in the Operating Room at Security Forces Hospital. She quickly became to the fore as an emerging leader to her colleagues and then with promotion into management she continues to lead her team. She is a role model and their advocate. Within the fast pace of the OR, Ms. Raquel is always on hand to be the voice of her nurses and in particular her patients. She fosters an environment of staff empowerment and engagement and is a driving force for patient-centered care.
Ms. Raquel not only looks within her unit for improvement but reaches out to the surgical inpatient units with ideas and guidance to improve the patient flow to and from the OR. This has enhanced collaboration amongst the different divisional head nurses. She is a true collaborator. Collectively she is described by her peers and multidisciplinary colleagues from the frontline staff to Nursing and Medical Administration as caring, compassionate, smart and an asset to the Department of Nursing and the OR. The following are comments from her colleagues.
"Ms. Raquel has supported me throughout my adaptation in my new role and responsibilities. Her ability to listen to my concerns and always be available to support and guide me whenever I need is really important to me. She has great leadership skills and is always keen to support her colleagues and patients. I see her as my role model."
"Ms. Raquel is very fair in distributing duty among the staff. She's also approachable and a good listener if any staff is having any problem. There is always two-way communication between us in the unit. We don't feel any barrier between us if we want to give an opinion. She always makes us feel welcome in her room. She makes everything easy for us and that makes us very happy with this working environment."
"Raquel's reputation as a staff nurse precedes her. Once promoted into management there were obvious changes in the OR, even with the many challenges she faced within the unit. The camaraderie amongst staff, teamwork and a noticeable culture change were evident. An additional focus on supporting her staff in their roles and responsibilities, educational goals and on patient-centered care. Ms. Raquel is in no doubt an emerging organizational leader with a bright future."
There was no doubt that Ms. Raquel was the most deserving recipient of our DAISY Nurse Leader Award whenshe received her award from Ms. Nada Massoudi, Director of Nursing and HisExcellency Dr. Sulaiman A. Al-suhaimi on our SFHP Nurses Day, May 14th, 2017.