Crystal Toffton is an outstanding nurse, leader and coach. She constantly exhibits the standards of Vidant Medical Center both on and off duty. I overheard her discussing her drive home from work one day and how she stopped after a 12-hour shift to care for an injured bike rider:

Crystal was driving home from her shift one evening when she saw a man driving a motorcycle lose control and hit the grass. The bike began to fishtail and pulled him into a ditch, then launched him 20 feet into the air before he landed on the ground. Crystal immediately turned around to help, dialed 911, and approached the man to let him know EMS was on the way. The man had a head laceration and was bleeding so she held pressure while waiting for EMS. At this time the man began to lose consciousness so Crystal continued to asses him, ask him questions to keep him awake and kept him still until EMS arrived. Crystal gave handoff information to the EMS crew, wrote a witness statement and waited until the ambulance left to leave the scene.

Whether on duty or off, Crystal continues to exemplify the high standards of VMC nurses. On duty she has served as a charge nurse, clinical coach, and is a board certified medical-surgical RN. In addition to these accolades, she is currently pursuing advancing her education and is enrolled is a baccalaureate program. It did not surprise me at all to hear that she takes her role as a nurse as seriously outside of work as she does when she is on duty.