Staffing can be very difficult in the ED; you never know what is going to walk in the door so you try to always be prepared. There was a particular weekend that the nursing staff looked like they were going to be short staffed, so although Nina had plans with her family she was willing to work extra to help out her department. Nina signed up to work extra on Saturday for half the shift, this way she could still keep her work life balance. However, as the day went on, it was busy, the patients were sick, and the department was full, so she stayed the entire shift giving up her plans to help her coworkers so they wouldn't work shorthanded. She also picked up part of the shift on that Sunday, but was determined to try to get out of work at 1 PM, as scheduled.
It got busy and a couple patients needed her, so Nina left much later than planned again. Before going home, she thought she'd treat herself to a manicure, so stopped at Walmart to get her nails done, walking in to see a woman having a seizure. She went into action, stayed with the lady, called 911 and waited for the squad to arrive. Bellevue Fire commented to her, "Hey, didn't we just see you at the hospital?" when they got there. The lady was coherent by this time and upset because she was going to be transported to the ED and she had no insurance, so she was worried about how she'd pay for the visit. The medic unit packed up the patient, almost about the time the nail place was going to close.
Nina ended up getting her nails done quickly, then came back to the hospital to talk to the patient and give her information about NE Med's financial counseling (she gave her a card and information to call Monday morning), and to make sure she was okay. The care that Nina projected this weekend shows that she is willing to go above and beyond for her coworkers, her direct care patients, and members of her community in distress even if she is outside of the hospital walls. Nina is a true definition of what it is to be a nurse; it is who she is as a person.