Diane Weiss always goes above and beyond in her nursing and her leadership. Most recently, we had a patient who had many psych/social barriers and she had been turned away by many other health care providers related to her challenging behaviors. We were her last hope for care. Diane was ready to face every challenge head-on to make sure this patient and her baby had exceptional care and to ensure the staff felt safe when the patient was here. Diane also worked with upper management to create a behavioral contract with the patient to set healthy boundaries to make sure all staff felt safe when caring for her. Diane took advantage of safety huddles for every visit to ensure that her plan of care was seamless. The patient's behavior drastically improved due to Diane's many interventions and soft approach in explaining the contract and why it was being implemented.
As the patient got closer to delivery, Diane worked hand in hand with our social worker to make sure the patient had housing, child care for other children, transportation to and from appointments, appointment coordination, new baby supplies... everything. You name it, she did it. As a result, the patient really developed a trusting relationship with Diane because of how much she had gone above and beyond for her. She was always asking for Diane when she came in for her appointments because she felt so cared for.
As her delivery approached, Diane worked with labor and delivery to ensure they would also feel safe taking care of this patient. She implemented the behavior contract for her delivery as well and the patient was very agreeable. On the evening of the patient's admission, Diane went over to her room along with our social worker after working all day in the clinic to make sure there was a smooth admission process and to provide support for the patient. It doesn't stop there. The next day Diane went over to labor and delivery several times throughout the day to make sure everything was going smoothly and offer support to the patient. She even went over there to be in the room with the patient to give the nurse who was caring for her a lunch break. When the patient was close to delivering, Diane and the social worker went over to her room to be present for the delivery because the patient felt more comfortable with their presence.
After delivery, the patient was very happy with her outcome and the care Diane had provided her throughout her entire pregnancy. As a true inspiration for all of us who work with her, Diane not only illuminates what every nurse should strive to be but also exemplifies true leadership.