December 2013
Sharon
Sanker
,
RN, OCN
Outpatient Cancer Care
Good Samaritan Hospital
Cincinnati
,
OH
United States
Sharon has been a nurse in our department for only a couple years, but in that time she has shown what a true oncology nurse exemplifies. Sharon works part-time, but has formed a caring relationship with many of her patients that shines through in her work and attitude. Her compassion, empathy, and critical thinking skills make her so important to so many patients. I am going to tell you of two of her patients where she has gone above and beyond the call of her daily nursing duties to care for these patients.
...
Sharon had a young patient who is Hispanic and does not speak any English. Sharon really took her under her wing while she was undergoing chemo treatments and coming for M-W-F office visits. She has several family members that accompany her to visits which Sharon includes in all care decisions. There is always a translator scheduled so that communication can be clear and the patient understands her plan of care. Sharon ALWAYS spends quality time with her even when she is extremely busy because she was always a little anxious and scared at her visits. She has even learned some Spanish and is able to communicate with the patient. She really advocates for her with the physician if the patient isn't feeling well or needs a test done, prescriptions written, etc. You can tell the patient is at ease with Sharon as soon as she sees her. Sharon has gotten social work involved in her care as well.
...
Another leukemia patient Sharon takes care of has been a patient in the Cancer Care for a couple years. When Sharon took over as her primary nurse, this patient really bonded with her and formed a close nurse-patient relationship. This patient has many social issues that affect her life and Sharon spends a lot of time working with her and other members of the interdisciplinary team to help her out. This patient is someone who goes around and meets all the other patients and tries to cheer them up. So when one of our patients that she was close to became very ill recently, Sharon gave her a ride to visit her at Hospice. She went out of her way to comfort and support not only her patient, but to visit another dying patient.
...
It's hard to put in words or describe the kindness and compassion that Sharon shows to her patients and even to her co-workers. It's just an air she has and the enormous smile she is always wearing that people notice. She never lets her patient see when she is having a bad day or is busy. She treats every patient with the same courtesy and time. I know this because when she is not at work, the first thing her patients ask is "where is Sharon, is she not going to be my nurse today?" They miss her and the nurse-patient relationship she has formed with them. I look to Sharon as a fabulous role model on how she uses her nursing knowledge and interpersonal skills to give the best care she can to her patients.
...Second Nomination
Today, Sharon had two patients whose birthdays are later in the week. She bought each of them a cupcake and the group sang Happy Birthday. One of the patients only speaks Spanish. Sharon made it a point to load a Spanish program on her phone so she learned Spanish so she could speak directly to the patient and not always communicate through the interpreter. We sang Happy Birthday to this patient in Spanish and she laughed at us the whole time. It made this patient's day.
...Third Nomination
I nominate Sharon Sanker as a deserving recipient of the DAISY Award. This RN exemplifies the kind of nurse that patient and families, as well as nurses, physicians and other members of the health care team recognize as an outstanding role model. The following scenario is an example of her patient care and ethics, highlighting the "super-human work done by nurses every day".
...
An agoraphobic patient had been diagnosed with cancer and needed to receive every 2 week treatments. She informed Sharon that she would not be able to come due to her disability. Through Sharon's compassion, encouragement, and persistence, not only did she make all of her appointments but started to develop relationships with some of the other patients. She had not been able to leave her house in the past but now has developed support systems that she would never have had if not for Sharon's efforts.
Sharon is an excellent patient advocate looking for ways to enable and support her patients through the difficulties of navigating the oncology system and living with cancer. She works tirelessly to coordinate her patient's care with physicians, social workers, pharmacists, home care agencies and many others. She is even known to research new drugs and discusses them with the physicians if she thinks it might benefit her patients.
Quality and safety for her patients is her primary priority in delivery of her care for patients in all stages of their cancer journey. This is her mission in life, to give to those that have needs and to make their walk a little easier.
Not only does she utterly devote her attention to her patients at work but on her own time has for years run a support group for cancer patients in her parish. Patients are not her only focus. She is active in her local Oncology Nursing Society, as the chairman of the Program Committee, committed to providing quality education to the TriState oncology nurses in our area. Her efforts are to enhance quality evidence based cancer care to all the cancer patients in the Cincinnati area.
...
Sharon had a young patient who is Hispanic and does not speak any English. Sharon really took her under her wing while she was undergoing chemo treatments and coming for M-W-F office visits. She has several family members that accompany her to visits which Sharon includes in all care decisions. There is always a translator scheduled so that communication can be clear and the patient understands her plan of care. Sharon ALWAYS spends quality time with her even when she is extremely busy because she was always a little anxious and scared at her visits. She has even learned some Spanish and is able to communicate with the patient. She really advocates for her with the physician if the patient isn't feeling well or needs a test done, prescriptions written, etc. You can tell the patient is at ease with Sharon as soon as she sees her. Sharon has gotten social work involved in her care as well.
...
Another leukemia patient Sharon takes care of has been a patient in the Cancer Care for a couple years. When Sharon took over as her primary nurse, this patient really bonded with her and formed a close nurse-patient relationship. This patient has many social issues that affect her life and Sharon spends a lot of time working with her and other members of the interdisciplinary team to help her out. This patient is someone who goes around and meets all the other patients and tries to cheer them up. So when one of our patients that she was close to became very ill recently, Sharon gave her a ride to visit her at Hospice. She went out of her way to comfort and support not only her patient, but to visit another dying patient.
...
It's hard to put in words or describe the kindness and compassion that Sharon shows to her patients and even to her co-workers. It's just an air she has and the enormous smile she is always wearing that people notice. She never lets her patient see when she is having a bad day or is busy. She treats every patient with the same courtesy and time. I know this because when she is not at work, the first thing her patients ask is "where is Sharon, is she not going to be my nurse today?" They miss her and the nurse-patient relationship she has formed with them. I look to Sharon as a fabulous role model on how she uses her nursing knowledge and interpersonal skills to give the best care she can to her patients.
...Second Nomination
Today, Sharon had two patients whose birthdays are later in the week. She bought each of them a cupcake and the group sang Happy Birthday. One of the patients only speaks Spanish. Sharon made it a point to load a Spanish program on her phone so she learned Spanish so she could speak directly to the patient and not always communicate through the interpreter. We sang Happy Birthday to this patient in Spanish and she laughed at us the whole time. It made this patient's day.
...Third Nomination
I nominate Sharon Sanker as a deserving recipient of the DAISY Award. This RN exemplifies the kind of nurse that patient and families, as well as nurses, physicians and other members of the health care team recognize as an outstanding role model. The following scenario is an example of her patient care and ethics, highlighting the "super-human work done by nurses every day".
...
An agoraphobic patient had been diagnosed with cancer and needed to receive every 2 week treatments. She informed Sharon that she would not be able to come due to her disability. Through Sharon's compassion, encouragement, and persistence, not only did she make all of her appointments but started to develop relationships with some of the other patients. She had not been able to leave her house in the past but now has developed support systems that she would never have had if not for Sharon's efforts.
Sharon is an excellent patient advocate looking for ways to enable and support her patients through the difficulties of navigating the oncology system and living with cancer. She works tirelessly to coordinate her patient's care with physicians, social workers, pharmacists, home care agencies and many others. She is even known to research new drugs and discusses them with the physicians if she thinks it might benefit her patients.
Quality and safety for her patients is her primary priority in delivery of her care for patients in all stages of their cancer journey. This is her mission in life, to give to those that have needs and to make their walk a little easier.
Not only does she utterly devote her attention to her patients at work but on her own time has for years run a support group for cancer patients in her parish. Patients are not her only focus. She is active in her local Oncology Nursing Society, as the chairman of the Program Committee, committed to providing quality education to the TriState oncology nurses in our area. Her efforts are to enhance quality evidence based cancer care to all the cancer patients in the Cincinnati area.