Maritoni "Toni" Farin
August 2013
Maritoni
Farin
,
RN
3 East
Beth Israel Medical Center
New York
,
NY
United States
Toni might be little, but she makes a huge difference in the lives of those she touches. She makes even the sickest patients smile with her overwhelming enthusiasm and compassion. She treats all her patients (even the most difficult ones) as if she was treating her own family. She receives many "Caught Being Great" awards, as well as many letters of appreciation from family / patients. Toni is constantly involved in studies to improve patient care on 3 East. She is always pushing herself to learn more and is in school to get her NP degree.
...
Toni is truly an incredible nurse. She does her job efficiently with intelligent care. We had a confused patient who was a fall risk and kept trying to get out of bed. Toni moved a computer and a chair into her room so that she could keep her company. I have witnessed her deal so well with difficult patients. She is patient with them. Her pleasant disposition, positive attitude and good work ethics also make her a pleasure to work with. I am always happy when I come to work to see that she will be working that day.
...
Toni is a beautiful person with a fantastic heart and soul who took excellent care of my mother during her stay at Beth Israel which, unfortunately, turned out to be her final days. Toni was constantly reassuring my mom with kind words, making her feel comfortable and holding her hand. The assistance was immeasurable. She also took the time to speak with my brother and me anytime we wanted and always with such a patient tone that is a rare commodity today.
...
The unit is still in the process of fully developing its goals and strategies on fall prevention. So in the meantime, members of the staff were encouraged to be innovative, to try out things which might work. A PA attached to 3 East had this amazing account of how Toni succeeded to do her computer tasks while simultaneously addressing the pressing need of a confused fall risk patient who was restless in bed but would be calmed down by "company". Toni's subsequent behavior was a fine display of fast critical analysis and equally fast implementing action. What transpired next is what lead the PA to label Toni as an "incredible nurse": Toni simply moved computer and chair in the patient's room thus efficiently accomplishing her computing tasks while at once preventing a fall prone patient from accidentally hurting himself. The PA was witness to Toni in action with other "difficult/combative" patients as well. She described her pattern of behavior in dealing with such cases as having the attributes of "firmness" and "patience"; "pleasant disposition", "positive attitude", and "good work ethic".
Her interest and drive for continuing education is contagious. Many have been influenced to be more aggressive in preparing for their own certification exams. Some have planned to or are now taking related or advanced courses.
Toni is never satisfied with what is. Always intellectually curious and challenged, she looks at her work with an eye for improving quality of service and safety of patient. She co-initiated the First Nursing Grand rounds program at BIB, discussing about the nurse's role in caring for patients with Congestive Heart Failure. Her work at 3 East as a staff nurse helps her with her research work, evidence-based studies, as well as understanding advance patho-physiology, diagnosis, and critical laboratory values. Knowing all these things helps her understand better what is going on with her patients and write her plan of care.
One other praise bestowed on Toni was her "patient tone that is a rare commodity today. As her nurse manager, I would like to attribute this personality trait shaping interpersonal skills to her genetic endowment (her mother is a nurse) and the way she was nurtured. She also has innate humility, patience, perseverance and resiliency enhanced by years of helping herself. She was home care intake field coordinator; fashion house secretary, etc, all of which involved people and human relations. Her formal and informal education helped shape this world view of patient care: "Nurses need to understand that patients go through varying degrees of stress which need to be alleviated by all means. The nurses need to have a very positive attitude at all times. This will enable them to focus all their attention, talents and energy towards meeting patient. This is really the main thrust of nursing".
Toni was repeatedly offered money by the son of a grateful patient who insisted that her treatment was way beyond what she expected or observed others were receiving; and she felt the least she could do to reciprocate was offer what she had. Each time though, Toni graciously refused, explaining that to have done less would have shortchanged the patient. What today is celebrated as simply care and compassion used to be known by its more descriptive expression: "tender loving care". For some reason, the tender and loving parts were done away with. But the noun "care" minus the two adjectives modifying it lacked the verbal, nonverbal, tactile, tonal, attitudinal, emotional and psychological nuances of the action Toni habitually did to address the needs of a profoundly afflicted or terminally ill patient.
Thus it would be an apt or fair label to call Toni an extraordinary nurse both in terms of skill and compassion demonstrated in her bedside care for patients and their families on a daily basis, given the unique culture and values of Beth Israel.
...
Toni is truly an incredible nurse. She does her job efficiently with intelligent care. We had a confused patient who was a fall risk and kept trying to get out of bed. Toni moved a computer and a chair into her room so that she could keep her company. I have witnessed her deal so well with difficult patients. She is patient with them. Her pleasant disposition, positive attitude and good work ethics also make her a pleasure to work with. I am always happy when I come to work to see that she will be working that day.
...
Toni is a beautiful person with a fantastic heart and soul who took excellent care of my mother during her stay at Beth Israel which, unfortunately, turned out to be her final days. Toni was constantly reassuring my mom with kind words, making her feel comfortable and holding her hand. The assistance was immeasurable. She also took the time to speak with my brother and me anytime we wanted and always with such a patient tone that is a rare commodity today.
...
The unit is still in the process of fully developing its goals and strategies on fall prevention. So in the meantime, members of the staff were encouraged to be innovative, to try out things which might work. A PA attached to 3 East had this amazing account of how Toni succeeded to do her computer tasks while simultaneously addressing the pressing need of a confused fall risk patient who was restless in bed but would be calmed down by "company". Toni's subsequent behavior was a fine display of fast critical analysis and equally fast implementing action. What transpired next is what lead the PA to label Toni as an "incredible nurse": Toni simply moved computer and chair in the patient's room thus efficiently accomplishing her computing tasks while at once preventing a fall prone patient from accidentally hurting himself. The PA was witness to Toni in action with other "difficult/combative" patients as well. She described her pattern of behavior in dealing with such cases as having the attributes of "firmness" and "patience"; "pleasant disposition", "positive attitude", and "good work ethic".
Her interest and drive for continuing education is contagious. Many have been influenced to be more aggressive in preparing for their own certification exams. Some have planned to or are now taking related or advanced courses.
Toni is never satisfied with what is. Always intellectually curious and challenged, she looks at her work with an eye for improving quality of service and safety of patient. She co-initiated the First Nursing Grand rounds program at BIB, discussing about the nurse's role in caring for patients with Congestive Heart Failure. Her work at 3 East as a staff nurse helps her with her research work, evidence-based studies, as well as understanding advance patho-physiology, diagnosis, and critical laboratory values. Knowing all these things helps her understand better what is going on with her patients and write her plan of care.
One other praise bestowed on Toni was her "patient tone that is a rare commodity today. As her nurse manager, I would like to attribute this personality trait shaping interpersonal skills to her genetic endowment (her mother is a nurse) and the way she was nurtured. She also has innate humility, patience, perseverance and resiliency enhanced by years of helping herself. She was home care intake field coordinator; fashion house secretary, etc, all of which involved people and human relations. Her formal and informal education helped shape this world view of patient care: "Nurses need to understand that patients go through varying degrees of stress which need to be alleviated by all means. The nurses need to have a very positive attitude at all times. This will enable them to focus all their attention, talents and energy towards meeting patient. This is really the main thrust of nursing".
Toni was repeatedly offered money by the son of a grateful patient who insisted that her treatment was way beyond what she expected or observed others were receiving; and she felt the least she could do to reciprocate was offer what she had. Each time though, Toni graciously refused, explaining that to have done less would have shortchanged the patient. What today is celebrated as simply care and compassion used to be known by its more descriptive expression: "tender loving care". For some reason, the tender and loving parts were done away with. But the noun "care" minus the two adjectives modifying it lacked the verbal, nonverbal, tactile, tonal, attitudinal, emotional and psychological nuances of the action Toni habitually did to address the needs of a profoundly afflicted or terminally ill patient.
Thus it would be an apt or fair label to call Toni an extraordinary nurse both in terms of skill and compassion demonstrated in her bedside care for patients and their families on a daily basis, given the unique culture and values of Beth Israel.