August 2021
Michael
Hussan
,
BSN, RN
Medical ICU
Raymond G. Murphy VA
Albuquerque
,
NM
United States
When I see Michael Ann coming down the hall, I know everything will be all right because she always jumps into action doing everything she can to serve and protect our veterans.
Michael Ann embodies the VA's core values of what it means to be a nurse. There have been numerous times I have relied on her as the rapid response nurse. She never disappoints as she always delivers the highest level of care to her patients and is a nurse who will go above and beyond for our veterans. There was a time my patient was rapidly declining, so I called our RRT Michael Ann, and she came running down to assist. As a newer nurse, this is always a scary, heart-pounding situation. But when I see Michael Ann coming down the hall, I know everything will be all right because she always jumps into action doing everything she can to serve and protect our veterans. Within minutes we had labs ordered and drawn, an EKG done, a chest x-ray done, and she even called her MICU attending to come down and read the x-ray immediately versus waiting for radiology to do so. The patient was safely transferred to a higher level of care in our ICU and went on to make a full recovery. I fully credit that to Michael Ann's quick and decisive problem-solving. Michael Ann manages to turn these stressful situations into learning experiences. She is a leader, an educator, a friend, a mentor, and so much more to all of us. I wouldn't be the nurse I am today without her. I hope one day I can be half the nurse she is.