May 2021
Marie V.
Smith
,
BSN
Family Medicine
Fort Belvoir Community Hospital
Fort Belvoir
,
VA
United States
It was so nice to have someone who was willing to provide the assistance we needed regarding a complex issue. Ms. Smith is an asset to FBCH.
With the national nurses’ week soon approaching, we would like to take the opportunity to recognize a nurse that recently went above and beyond to assist us in resolving an issue that occurred with the medication our family member is currently taking. She had recently been released as an inpatient from Georgetown and there was some confusion regarding the refill of the medication since Fort Belvoir had originally prescribed the medication. She had only enough to last until the next day so we stopped by the family medicine clinic to see if we could talk to a nurse.
Marie Smith came out to talk to us regarding the issue. She was very personable and professional and suggested several options regarding this issue. She had us stop by the pharmacy kiosk to see if we could get an emergency supply until our family member could see her PCM at the family medicine clinic the next week. While we were at the kiosk, she walked down the hall trying to find us to see if we had any success in getting the emergency supply and literally sat and waited for us to finish speaking with the pharmacy. Unfortunately, the medication was one the pharmacy could not supply as an emergency amount. Ms. Smith asked us to follow her back around to the family medicine clinic where she made sure we could speak in private regarding the issue and then took another 10-15 minutes letting us know what she would be doing from her end to resolve the issue. She also made suggestions on what we could do from our end to work on getting a refill. She provided her phone number and several other phone numbers to make it easy for us and promised to make sure she would contact us the following day
All of this was at the end of the business day, but she never tried to hurry us along. It was so nice to have someone who was willing to provide the assistance we needed regarding a complex issue. Ms. Smith is an asset to FBCH. It isn't often you find someone like her in the military medical system, someone willing to follow an issue through without passing you to someone else or making suggestions on how you can resolve the issue without clear involvement. As we stated earlier, she was personable and professional and seemed concerned regarding our situation and then took the necessary time to provide a resolved and followed through. We appreciate her assistance and hope she can be recognized or rewarded in some way for her going above and beyond her normal duty to help us and putting a patient at ease. Our family member was able to go home knowing someone was working on the issue and ultimately she didn't have to worry which helped her mentally and physically because she could concentrate on her recovery.
Marie Smith came out to talk to us regarding the issue. She was very personable and professional and suggested several options regarding this issue. She had us stop by the pharmacy kiosk to see if we could get an emergency supply until our family member could see her PCM at the family medicine clinic the next week. While we were at the kiosk, she walked down the hall trying to find us to see if we had any success in getting the emergency supply and literally sat and waited for us to finish speaking with the pharmacy. Unfortunately, the medication was one the pharmacy could not supply as an emergency amount. Ms. Smith asked us to follow her back around to the family medicine clinic where she made sure we could speak in private regarding the issue and then took another 10-15 minutes letting us know what she would be doing from her end to resolve the issue. She also made suggestions on what we could do from our end to work on getting a refill. She provided her phone number and several other phone numbers to make it easy for us and promised to make sure she would contact us the following day
All of this was at the end of the business day, but she never tried to hurry us along. It was so nice to have someone who was willing to provide the assistance we needed regarding a complex issue. Ms. Smith is an asset to FBCH. It isn't often you find someone like her in the military medical system, someone willing to follow an issue through without passing you to someone else or making suggestions on how you can resolve the issue without clear involvement. As we stated earlier, she was personable and professional and seemed concerned regarding our situation and then took the necessary time to provide a resolved and followed through. We appreciate her assistance and hope she can be recognized or rewarded in some way for her going above and beyond her normal duty to help us and putting a patient at ease. Our family member was able to go home knowing someone was working on the issue and ultimately she didn't have to worry which helped her mentally and physically because she could concentrate on her recovery.