Amanda is the sunshine on a cloudy day; the excited co-worker that lifts you up first thing in the morning; the leader that won't allow you to fail; the motivator that will remind you of why you first entered healthcare. In short, she is the kind of leader all nurses need and want. She is the kind of nurse all our patients deserve.
On several occasions, I've come to the unit to be greeted with a hug, a cheer, and always a smile. During my rounds, I had a patient complain to me that it was too quiet at night. I just gave him a blank stare and asked, "Isn't that a good thing?" He simply responded saying, "No, the singing nurse, she works in the daytime. I want her here at night so I can hear her sing." I laughed and replied, "Oh, I know exactly who you're referring too that's our Charge Nurse, Amanda." The way he spoke about her singing you'd think Amanda was his artist and he was her producer. The one thing that spoke loudest to me is, he said she calmed his spirit when he heard her sing. That's one of so many things Amanda does so well.
During Epic go-live, you never saw Amanda sweat and she led with calm strength and confidence. She wore her read super-user shirt proudly and made sure everyone had everything they needed including a back rub. Leading when it's calm is one thing but leading through challenges, remaining patient-focused and supporting your team is a different matter altogether. Amanda listens to what her team says and the all-important things that they don't say.
Sometimes I just need a dose of Amanda to get me through the day. Recently, I came into the charge office and I saw a poster Amanda created and some flyers. Amanda began to smile broadly and asked to tell me about her plan. For Christmas, she wanted to send shoeboxes full of items to children in Africa for Operation Christmas Child. She was so excited and earnestly wanted to do something meaningful with her work family. Amanda means so much to all of us. Her hard work and dedication to our team means so much to so many. She has a positive attitude and dedication to lead and guide us.
So, thank you, Amanda, for letting your light shine, sharing your beautiful singing voice and for bringing joy to others. You Exemplify Teamwork and Connections like no other, all while Championing Patient-Centered Care and Embracing the Future. We have a unit hashtag #10MainStrong. Everyone always asks how we came up with it. The Clinical Manager saw a photo of Amanda that was placed on a bodybuilder that read "Amanda Strong". That's just one adjective we use to describe our Charge Nurse Amanda and #10MainStrong was born.