Val Pagtakhan
June 2013
Valerie
Pagtakhan
,
RN
Cardiac Step Down
Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center
San Francisco
,
CA
United States
"She was really on the job. Never had to wait for anything; explained all procedures, very pleasant as well! I was very worried about my surgery, but was lucky to receive such good care!"
...
"Val was awesome our whole stay :) This whole experience was new to us and she made sure she checked on us constantly. If she didn't know an answer she found it out or sent in the proper person to explain. Because of our concerns and questions or just pulling my mom up in bed we felt like we were bothering the staff too much but Val made us feel that was untrue and was here every time we needed her. She made us feel like we were family. She is very caring and very professional. We love her! We wish we could take her home with us to help with mom's aftercare. She's perfect."
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"When one is dispirited, uncomfortable, weak, hurting; any act of kindness by a nurse is surely welcomed. Be it an extra little "pat", a smoothing of bed linen, an offer of fresh iced water, a word of encouragement, speaking to a patient as a person, sharing personal anecdotes, really listening, patiently answering questions; these actions/behaviors make being confined to a hospital room more bearable. Nurse Val exhibited these actions/behaviors towards me as I recovered from a TAVR procedure. Here's one specific example that I remember well...
I quickly became uncomfortable in the hospital bed; back and hip discomfort. So I chose to sit in the large chair right next to the bed. This required Val to maneuver the rolling tray table around the bed and past a small side chair set against a wall. She had to reverse this process when the rolling tray table and I needed to be on the other side of the bed. (The room was somewhat small, and, of course, crowded with equipment.) This she did willingly. More importantly, it required Val to shift the rolling tray table and small side chair when she came to check vitals and make other observations. Again, she did this willingly even though, in several instances, she had to stoop down on one or both knees.
Now, I call that going above and beyond the call of duty because she could have legitimately asked me to get back into bed. I hope that this information qualified Val to be considered for the DAISY Award."
...
"Val was awesome our whole stay :) This whole experience was new to us and she made sure she checked on us constantly. If she didn't know an answer she found it out or sent in the proper person to explain. Because of our concerns and questions or just pulling my mom up in bed we felt like we were bothering the staff too much but Val made us feel that was untrue and was here every time we needed her. She made us feel like we were family. She is very caring and very professional. We love her! We wish we could take her home with us to help with mom's aftercare. She's perfect."
...
"When one is dispirited, uncomfortable, weak, hurting; any act of kindness by a nurse is surely welcomed. Be it an extra little "pat", a smoothing of bed linen, an offer of fresh iced water, a word of encouragement, speaking to a patient as a person, sharing personal anecdotes, really listening, patiently answering questions; these actions/behaviors make being confined to a hospital room more bearable. Nurse Val exhibited these actions/behaviors towards me as I recovered from a TAVR procedure. Here's one specific example that I remember well...
I quickly became uncomfortable in the hospital bed; back and hip discomfort. So I chose to sit in the large chair right next to the bed. This required Val to maneuver the rolling tray table around the bed and past a small side chair set against a wall. She had to reverse this process when the rolling tray table and I needed to be on the other side of the bed. (The room was somewhat small, and, of course, crowded with equipment.) This she did willingly. More importantly, it required Val to shift the rolling tray table and small side chair when she came to check vitals and make other observations. Again, she did this willingly even though, in several instances, she had to stoop down on one or both knees.
Now, I call that going above and beyond the call of duty because she could have legitimately asked me to get back into bed. I hope that this information qualified Val to be considered for the DAISY Award."