Jennifer is a charge nurse in the emergency department at UTMB Galveston and has worked in the ER for nearly a decade. In the emergency department, nurses routinely do small things to positively impact their patients, the patient's family, and their colleagues, and often the impact that these actions have gone overlooked. Jennifer does this daily in her practice and would never expect recognition for it. Below is one example of a day where Jennifer's experience, compassion, and influence served most critical for our department.
In December, one of our colleagues came through the emergency department in critical condition on a day Jennifer was in charge. She gracefully coordinated exceptional care for him and his family members throughout the event. Jennifer moved around staff, ensured privacy, and handled communication between a tremendous amount of people during such traumatic moments. She, without hesitation, took care of not only the patient and their family but also her staff, all the while ensuring the continued care for other patients in the department. Anyone working with her that day got to experience why she is such a critical component for our team's success. Her experience and leadership did not go unrecognized.
Afterward, she was available to her peers and went out of her way to debrief and make sure people were doing okay after a tragic ending to our colleague's story. Jennifer promotes the excellence UTMB values and often keeps the Galveston emergency department in check when situations between patients, staff, and other influences easily become unhinged.