I recently had the privilege of witnessing Danielle go above and beyond for a patient suffering not only from dementia, but cancer as well. Danielle was caring for a very sick gentleman, with the patient unable to express his desires around his care and no family to consult with to help guide the healthcare team, invasive medical treatments were continued. Through continual reassessments, she recognized his deteriorating mental and medical status. When physicians wanted to have urology place a catheter that would no doubt cause pain to the patient and then transfer him to critical care, Danielle advocated for comfort. Although it is nursing's role to advocate for their patients, I thought this to be a particularly impactful event given it was challenging a physician that was called in to perform a specific task as well as the care plan discussed earlier in the day.
In addition to that it was all taking place close to shift change, and already busy time of the shift. By continually reassessing the patient, she recognized the need to change the plan. Danielle remained at the bedside holding his hand. Because of Danielle, this gentleman's last moments were not ones of pain and fear, but of affection, compassion and tenderness. The DAISY Award looks to reward "the super human work done by nurses every day" and in my opinion, that is what I witnessed.