I would like to thank my nurse and share my story of why this nurse is so special: I have worked for our institution for over a decade in a position that touches all of our nursing staff where I see them as students and young professionals learning and honing their nursing skills to become better practitioners to our patients. Recently I had the opportunity to experience the outcome of that learning and honing of skill through an inpatient stay on 4 Main for two nights. While the nurses were nice and went out of their way to make my stay comfortable there was one who stood out because she made sure my care included what I needed despite whether I asked for it or not. Let's just say after a 4 hour and 40-minute procedure I was not at my best and I may not have been at the top of my game in regards to my reasoning. Pain and narcotics have a way of impacting us that way. While others were content to let me to my own vices, Rebecca used nursing 101 and made me get up and move despite my saying I was comfortable and did not want to do what she suggested. In a shift when there is not much time she took the time to get me up and moving, made me get out of bed and then later got me up again and made me walk down the hall. I became light headed and she held me against the wall to keep me safe while her peers got a chair. She is not a big person, but she has a heart the size of a giant. I have to admit I was afraid to get up initially but with Rebecca's support, I felt better after I did.
Something as simple as walking may not seem extraordinary but when you look at all of the treatments, assessments, duties, medications and charting an RN has to do in a shift it is no surprise that some menial tasks are skipped due to the amount of time they take to complete, despite the overall importance they play in a patient's recovery. Rebecca took the time to walk me at the end of her shift and I'm sure my light-headed spell probably had her leaving a little late, but I needed it and it gave me the courage to get up again and again, so I was ready to go home and be on my own to continue my recovery. I want to thank her not only for her wonderful care but for taking the time to take the time. As nurses, communication is our greatest skill. It is one of the reasons we are the most trusted profession because we teach, explain, encourage, discourage and enforce. Not everyone appreciates the discourage and enforce but it is a necessary evil in providing excellent healthcare. Rebecca is an excellent communicator and while she may have been preaching to the choir, I definitely needed to hear what she had to say and with her encouragement and enforcement, I was started on the road to a wonderful recovery. Sometimes the extraordinary is having the ability to complete all of the ordinary.
Rebecca is an example and an asset to our nursing team. I'm thankful for all of my nurses but especially her.