Melody exemplifies all of the I CARE principles. She reliably stays abreast of all patient test scheduling and makes sure scans are completed on a timely basis, and that they receive follow-up. She knows how to expedite tests and consults, and has doubtlessly saved literally weeks for many patients with new cancer diagnoses awaiting work up. The Hem Onc Fellows and staff all recognize that she is extremely efficient and reliable and that she will never need to be asked twice. If something needs to be done, they look for Melody.
However, her greatest skills are in talking to the patients; she speaks with both kindness and authority and inspires an air of confidence which is comforting to the patient. She relates well to the veterans, and they rely on her as a resource, and problem solver. She also helps them deal with their cancer and its associated anxieties. She also recognizes problems and deficiencies in the system and knows what VA resources might be available to fix them, and she then accomplishes positive change in the system.
Not too long ago, a patient in the hospital needed chemotherapy urgently. However, the nursing staff had no chemotherapy-certified RNs to administer the chemotherapy. Melody helped the head nurse call to find staffing, but no staffing was available. So, Melody herself stayed with the patient until close to midnight to administer the infusion. This was despite being an outpatient Nurse Manager (thus this was not reimbursed, to my knowledge), and despite having started at 7:30 AM that day. She then made it a project to identify what percentage of RNs working on the chemotherapy floor had chemotherapy certification and encouraged policies which would increase this.
I also recall when the hospital was being inspected for recertification, and the inspector was reviewing assigned roles, it seemed that Melody's name kept coming up throughout the session over and over again. Indeed, she was the volunteer for about half of these roles.