March 2021
Stephanie
Monds
,
BSN, RN
University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics - ICU
Health Carousel
Iowa City
,
IA
Stephanie was very compassionate and caring. She helped me through a long night when my wife and family couldn't be there.
Stephanie sat with me and talked with me when I received bad news about my brain tumor. She was very compassionate and caring. She helped me through a long night when my wife and family couldn't be there. She is the BEST!
***
Stephanie went out of her way to make me feel better. She gave me a bath and checked in on me often. She helped me feel more comfortable during an uncomfortable time.
***
Stephanie Monds and I connected months ago. She was a traveler in the ICU up in New Jersey during the beginning of Covid. She was with another agency and we were trying to get her submitted to multiple openings across the country. She has a big family and resides in Georgia but knew she had a higher calling in helping out during Covid. Following New Jersey, she traveled to Arizona when their Covid-19 numbers spiked. She still wasn’t on assignment with us but we talked weekly and created a bond. She finally found a position through us in Iowa where she has been for months and extended multiple times. She continuously picks up OT, calls me with how nice her coworkers have been and how rewarding the work has continued to be. She receives care packages from friends and coworkers across the country with different items that any traveler would love and she always shares with her other travelers/coworkers and is truly selfless. She has never complained to me about the conditions inside the facility, always has a positive attitude (When it's not snowing 3 ft of snow in Iowa haha) and I could honestly say I have a bond with her further than nurse and recruiter. She is amazing, and I would be honored to nominate her for a DAISY Award.
***
In January, we interviewed Monds while she was on assignment through staffing firm Health Carousel at a facility in Iowa City, Iowa.
Stephanie Monds felt she had to do something after seeing images of hard-hit New York near the start of last year. Monds also knew that she would be working with Covid patients even if she stayed at her home in Georgia, and she was concerned about her husband and children as well as her 80-year-old father who lived next door.
"I knew I needed to be out there and helping, but I would be a significant risk to my family," she said. "I would have to be away from them anyway."
To ensure safety, Monds drove from Georgia to New York by car rather than risk flying.
She was in New York for about six weeks before returning home. Monds says she was fortunate to remain healthy; she has seen other healthcare workers contract the disease. Monds later traveled to Arizona in July on assignment, another hard-hit area. That time she flew but took precautions to remain safe.
“A person can't tell how Covid-19 will affect them,” Monds says. She knows of some people who had minor symptoms, but another friend contracted Covid and died. "You don't know how this is going to affect you so it's best just not to get it."
The biggest challenge in being a travel nurse, Monds says, is leaving her family for large blocks of time. "They miss their momma, and I miss them,” Monds says of her children, who are taken care of by her husband when she is on assignment. “They understand but they are still kids.” But she notes that squashing the pandemic will ultimately make them safer. “We’ve all had to sacrifice to some extent, anybody who is halfway responsible has had to sacrifice a lot,” Monds says citing even the people who stay at home to avoid spreading the disease. However, some patients sacrificed their lives and died alone. “What I’m doing is nothing compared to the sacrifice that they and their families had to make.”
Monds says as a nurse she aims to help ease patients’ suffering. And not just for Covid patients, still come to hospitals with other health issues. Monds also says she genuinely loves what she does. “I think I’m most proud of bringing as much empathy and dignity that I can muster to my patients,” Monds says. “I like to feel that if I was the nurse taking care of them, I hope I made them feel they weren’t alone during the experience.” She says working during the time of Covid has made her both a better nurse and a better person. It has also given her a new perspective on the world as well. “It will change you if you’ve been doing it for the past year. … If not, you need to find another job.”
***
Stephanie went out of her way to make me feel better. She gave me a bath and checked in on me often. She helped me feel more comfortable during an uncomfortable time.
***
Stephanie Monds and I connected months ago. She was a traveler in the ICU up in New Jersey during the beginning of Covid. She was with another agency and we were trying to get her submitted to multiple openings across the country. She has a big family and resides in Georgia but knew she had a higher calling in helping out during Covid. Following New Jersey, she traveled to Arizona when their Covid-19 numbers spiked. She still wasn’t on assignment with us but we talked weekly and created a bond. She finally found a position through us in Iowa where she has been for months and extended multiple times. She continuously picks up OT, calls me with how nice her coworkers have been and how rewarding the work has continued to be. She receives care packages from friends and coworkers across the country with different items that any traveler would love and she always shares with her other travelers/coworkers and is truly selfless. She has never complained to me about the conditions inside the facility, always has a positive attitude (When it's not snowing 3 ft of snow in Iowa haha) and I could honestly say I have a bond with her further than nurse and recruiter. She is amazing, and I would be honored to nominate her for a DAISY Award.
***
In January, we interviewed Monds while she was on assignment through staffing firm Health Carousel at a facility in Iowa City, Iowa.
Stephanie Monds felt she had to do something after seeing images of hard-hit New York near the start of last year. Monds also knew that she would be working with Covid patients even if she stayed at her home in Georgia, and she was concerned about her husband and children as well as her 80-year-old father who lived next door.
"I knew I needed to be out there and helping, but I would be a significant risk to my family," she said. "I would have to be away from them anyway."
To ensure safety, Monds drove from Georgia to New York by car rather than risk flying.
She was in New York for about six weeks before returning home. Monds says she was fortunate to remain healthy; she has seen other healthcare workers contract the disease. Monds later traveled to Arizona in July on assignment, another hard-hit area. That time she flew but took precautions to remain safe.
“A person can't tell how Covid-19 will affect them,” Monds says. She knows of some people who had minor symptoms, but another friend contracted Covid and died. "You don't know how this is going to affect you so it's best just not to get it."
The biggest challenge in being a travel nurse, Monds says, is leaving her family for large blocks of time. "They miss their momma, and I miss them,” Monds says of her children, who are taken care of by her husband when she is on assignment. “They understand but they are still kids.” But she notes that squashing the pandemic will ultimately make them safer. “We’ve all had to sacrifice to some extent, anybody who is halfway responsible has had to sacrifice a lot,” Monds says citing even the people who stay at home to avoid spreading the disease. However, some patients sacrificed their lives and died alone. “What I’m doing is nothing compared to the sacrifice that they and their families had to make.”
Monds says as a nurse she aims to help ease patients’ suffering. And not just for Covid patients, still come to hospitals with other health issues. Monds also says she genuinely loves what she does. “I think I’m most proud of bringing as much empathy and dignity that I can muster to my patients,” Monds says. “I like to feel that if I was the nurse taking care of them, I hope I made them feel they weren’t alone during the experience.” She says working during the time of Covid has made her both a better nurse and a better person. It has also given her a new perspective on the world as well. “It will change you if you’ve been doing it for the past year. … If not, you need to find another job.”