Claire exemplifies the kind of nurse that the patients and families as well as the Nurses, Physicians, and other members of the Interdisciplinary team recognize as an outstanding role model. The following is an example of her patient care, highlighting the care and compassion she provides every day:
Over a period of several months when my dear friend, G, was in the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance transplant wing at the University of Washington Hospital, Claire Kruller was a key member of her caregiving resource team. From our first introduction, I could see that Claire had made a point of learning about who G was as a person beyond her disease. She came to know the names of her family members, stories about her beloved dog, and her favorite sports teams. Claire was also very attentive to those of us who, as friends on G's immediate caregiving team, were making daily visits to be with her. If G was asleep or otherwise unable to communicate, Claire had thoughtful stories for us.
With no family members in town, Claire recognized how much we relied on timely information, were reassured by her reports, and in several particular cases, that one of us needed to be called to G's side as she was becoming distraught and then delirious. After G returned from the ICU, Claire continued to visit G, even when she wasn't one of her assigned patients for that week. During her final days, Claire again joined us at G's bedside with her nurse and medical team of the day. She saw the importance of this consistency for all of us.