Mike has been on the S floor for more than a year now; the times I have had the pleasure of working with him I consistently observe his genuine care and compassion towards patients under his care.
One evening in particular stands out when I witnessed him go above and beyond to care for an elderly patient. This gentleman was blind, deaf in his left ear and used a hearing aid preoperatively in his right ear. His surgery this day was for a cochlear implant on his right ear, which postoperatively left him unable to use his hearing aid and rendering him temporarily deaf. As I stated earlier this man was elderly and the disorienting nature of awakening from general anesthesia just compounded this case. Mike caring for this man was incredible to witness. There were no family members with the patient and at one point I saw Mike holding this man's hand and spelling out letters to try to communicate with him; the patient's head rested gently on Mike's shoulder. It was at this point that Mike realized the man did not know how to read and his advocacy went into overdrive.
Thankfully, the patient was being admitted to the 11th floor and as Mike prepared him for transfer, he made a call to the nursing staff requesting a room close to the nurses' station and added that this man would need frequent safety checks throughout the night. Realizing that limiting the amount of new caregivers was in the patient's best interest, arm-in-arm Mike ambulated this man to the bathroom and then personally transported him to the 11th floor making sure he arrived safe and sound to his bed.
In the words of Maya Angelou, "People may not remember exactly what you did, or what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel."
Mike is truly a nurse who makes a difference in his patients' lives; it is a joy to work alongside him as I find him an extraordinary person and clinician who epitomizes nursing at its best.