Char is such an amazing RN. She goes above and beyond for all of her patients. When Char transferred to PSU5 she brought with her years of ICU experience and immediately acted as a resource to the other staff members. She hit the ground running when she started working here. She is frequently in charge, she heads the wound committee and completes various audits for the department. She is frequently recognized by her peers for always being there to help them and always educating them when needed. The orientees working with her all have nothing but positive things to say about her and how much they learn from her. She has top notch assessment skills and notices the smallest of changes in her patients. She keeps in contact with MDs and always acts as her patient's advocate. They also frequently recognize her for her amazing and thorough care that she provides.
Char really takes the time to listen to her patients, both for medical and personal reasons. We had a female elderly patient who was supposed to be discharged before Christmas. Due to a few changes in her condition, she might not possibly get to make it home in time for the holiday. The patient was talking to Charmaine about how sad it made her that she might not get to be home with her family for Christmas. Char immediately jumped into action. She ran downstairs to the giftshop and bought the patient balloons, a card, and a few small gifts. She then worked with her peers that Charmaine would take her to the bathroom to wash up and that the peers would decorate the room with Christmas decorations so when the patient walked out, it would be like her own small party with the staff. When Charmaine was all done cleaning the patient up, and the room was all decorated, she called all of the staff members in the department to come in the room for the celebration. Char made sure that everyone signed the card too. The patient was crying she was so happy and thankful that Char had planned all of this for her and took the time to cheer her up after the patient said that she was sad. She said it meant the world to her that someone would do something so thoughtful for her and she couldn't wait to tell her husband about it and show her grandkids the gifts, especially her 13-month old great granddaughter who was going to love the light up, singing Santa hat Charmaine had bought her.
When I walked in to talk to the patient, she was smiling ear to ear and just kept telling me how nice it was for her to do this and she was excited to read the card when she was alone since everyone had signed it. Charmaine definitely lifted the patient's spirits and made a huge difference and such a positive impact in a very difficult situation. This was no big deal for Charmaine, it is just the type of RN she is. Always going above and beyond and always take that extra step to make a huge difference to someone else. Char truly is one of the most exceptional RNs that I have ever worked with. She is the complete package and meets all of the patient's needs both physically and mentally.