We had a patient who was an organ donor, who was not doing well. The family had opted to honor the patient’s wish to donate his organs after death, and so Southwest transplant became consultants for the patient’s case moving forward. Needless to say, taking care of a dying patient and optimizing their organs for harvest is no easy task. This nurse was working the dayshift taking care of this patient plus another for the whole shift, without complaining. They are one of the kindest and most patient people I’ve ever worked with, so that came as no surprise to me. But they exceeded expectations by volunteering to stay to help the next shift when they found out they were short on nurses. The patient was scheduled to be taken to OR at 10 p.m. that night for the organ harvest, and this nurse knew that the process was going to be very involved and would require more focused care than our staffing would allow. The OR time got delayed due to other OR cases, and again this nurse was patient, and they wanted to see this through. They were working closely with the transplant team and the palliative care NP and ensured the patient passed with dignity and comfort. The transplant team later reported to us that they were able to help at least three people with the organs they had harvested that night, and they thanked this nurse and all other staff involved for helping make that possible. This nurse is not only very hardworking and dedicated, but they do so without the need for recognition or reward. That being said, I still want them to know how much they are appreciated and what an impact they have made for the patient and the team.

***

We would like to recognize this nurse for their genuine passionate care, strong work ethic, and incomparable dedication. We had a patient that was scheduled to have his body donated to Southwest Transplant. The OR schedule for harvest was around 8 p.m. and we needed a nurse to stay. This nurse volunteered to stay and then the patient’s surgery schedule was moved to a later time due to OR schedule with the available OR team. This nurse ended up staying until the patient was taken to the OR after 1 a.m., so the charge nurse didn’t have to have the patient. They did all this with their own initiative. They are really a true team player and a very hard working nurse who doesn’t expect anything in return. We are so proud to have this nurse on our team. They deserve to be recognized for their hard work, this is a great example of being an outstanding nurse.