Jennifer Miclat
September 2021
Jennifer
Miclat
,
RN
Medical/Surgical Unit
Baptist Medical Center South
Jacksonville
,
FL
United States
Jenn is a nurse who is powered by compassion and empathy. She's fueled by a deep longing to ease suffering.
I had the best nurse take care of me last night. Things are hard right now for everyone, especially nurses. The pandemic has really filled up this hospital and has put so much extra strain on the nurses – it is a lot to bear. I feel like I am uniquely qualified to make said assertion: long before COVID became a household name, this facility was my second home due to a litany of health problems I won't go into, and before that, I was a nurse, at the bedside, too. It's these three experiences that give me unique insight into what nursing wants to be, what it is, and what it can be. And a good nurse makes the best of all three.
Jenn is exactly this nurse. Throughout the evening Jenn made sure to check on me, and I could tell she really genuinely cared. She understands how scary it is to be in the hospital and be afraid and went above and beyond to keep me safe and comforted during such a hard time. I don't know how she managed to find the time to connect with me on such a deeply connected level and she had five other patients and I'm certain she was connecting with them on the same level as me despite having an arduous and busy group. I found her to be kind, first and then clinical, second. She is knowledgeable and confident in what she knows but gently in tune with what she doesn't know.
It goes without saying that in today's perilous nursing experience the former is just as important as the latter – but this sometimes gets forgotten. That is not the case for Jenn. I felt safe in her care knowing that if something should arise in my care that gave her pause, she would take that time to be sure I was safe. Also worth noting: Jenn was really adept at managing her time between six pretty sick patients. When I needed her, she was right here and I felt very confident that if I needed some more nausea medicine that she would respond quite quickly, or – if needed – she would reach out to her teammates for a hand. I definitely noted that she has really strong communication skills with her teammates, patients, and their families – but she has a gentleness about her that really made her easy to talk to. She made me feel safe and cared about.
One last thing to note – one particular thing that really caught this [old!] ICU nurse’s attention, was her organizational skills, her time management skills, and her attention to detail. She is a talented caregiver with unlimited potential and I feel quite confident that she would be a great addition to any nursing team, regardless of patient acuity or nurse-to-patient ratios. I think she would be an awesome ICU nurse, if that may one day interest her. She is a nurse who is powered by compassion and empathy. She's fueled by a deep longing to ease suffering. I'm sure that beginning her journey as a novice nurse just as the COVID pandemic changed the world forever, had to be hard, but she is doing it, I hope she sees this one day and I hope she can see her value as a member to any healthcare team – but what I really hope is for her to realize that she IS making a difference. She IS relieving suffering and she is really helping people through a really stressful, and frightening time.
In short – she is a great nurse and a great human being. We do need more kindness everywhere in this world, but Jenn picked a profession that needs more nurses like her from her nursing 'generation' – arguably now more than ever before. Nursing culture is constantly changing and growing, and as an older nurse, she gives me a lot of hope for the nursing 'Generations' to come. She models a person who deserves a high level of respect. Her kindness, fairness, caring, trustworthiness, emotional stability, empathy, and compassion are part of who she is on a personal level and it shines through and serves her well as a nurse and as a human. She is gently and confidently leading her 'generation' of the nursing profession in the right direction – by example – while finding fulfillment and purpose in helping people that are struggling and hurting all along the way. Thank you for taking care of me tonight, Jenn. You made me feel better already.
Jenn is exactly this nurse. Throughout the evening Jenn made sure to check on me, and I could tell she really genuinely cared. She understands how scary it is to be in the hospital and be afraid and went above and beyond to keep me safe and comforted during such a hard time. I don't know how she managed to find the time to connect with me on such a deeply connected level and she had five other patients and I'm certain she was connecting with them on the same level as me despite having an arduous and busy group. I found her to be kind, first and then clinical, second. She is knowledgeable and confident in what she knows but gently in tune with what she doesn't know.
It goes without saying that in today's perilous nursing experience the former is just as important as the latter – but this sometimes gets forgotten. That is not the case for Jenn. I felt safe in her care knowing that if something should arise in my care that gave her pause, she would take that time to be sure I was safe. Also worth noting: Jenn was really adept at managing her time between six pretty sick patients. When I needed her, she was right here and I felt very confident that if I needed some more nausea medicine that she would respond quite quickly, or – if needed – she would reach out to her teammates for a hand. I definitely noted that she has really strong communication skills with her teammates, patients, and their families – but she has a gentleness about her that really made her easy to talk to. She made me feel safe and cared about.
One last thing to note – one particular thing that really caught this [old!] ICU nurse’s attention, was her organizational skills, her time management skills, and her attention to detail. She is a talented caregiver with unlimited potential and I feel quite confident that she would be a great addition to any nursing team, regardless of patient acuity or nurse-to-patient ratios. I think she would be an awesome ICU nurse, if that may one day interest her. She is a nurse who is powered by compassion and empathy. She's fueled by a deep longing to ease suffering. I'm sure that beginning her journey as a novice nurse just as the COVID pandemic changed the world forever, had to be hard, but she is doing it, I hope she sees this one day and I hope she can see her value as a member to any healthcare team – but what I really hope is for her to realize that she IS making a difference. She IS relieving suffering and she is really helping people through a really stressful, and frightening time.
In short – she is a great nurse and a great human being. We do need more kindness everywhere in this world, but Jenn picked a profession that needs more nurses like her from her nursing 'generation' – arguably now more than ever before. Nursing culture is constantly changing and growing, and as an older nurse, she gives me a lot of hope for the nursing 'Generations' to come. She models a person who deserves a high level of respect. Her kindness, fairness, caring, trustworthiness, emotional stability, empathy, and compassion are part of who she is on a personal level and it shines through and serves her well as a nurse and as a human. She is gently and confidently leading her 'generation' of the nursing profession in the right direction – by example – while finding fulfillment and purpose in helping people that are struggling and hurting all along the way. Thank you for taking care of me tonight, Jenn. You made me feel better already.