I have been a nurse for almost 7 years now and I have never met a nurse who consistently comes to work in a great mood, puts a smile on every patient and visitor's face, and cares deeply about her job. Every day Julie comes into work, she is happy, bubbly, and smiling. Every single one of her coworkers cannot help but smile when they see her. She makes sure to say Hi to everyone around her. She is even on a first-name basis with all of the people we work with who are not on the ED team like rad techs, EVS, transport, food service, EPAT, etc. It also doesn't matter what a patient comes in for, Julie treats every patient with the same kindness, smile, enthusiasm, and empathy. Even patients who come in escorted by police for PCP, she treats everyone with the same smile.

Not only is Julie the most caring nurse I have ever met, but she also deeply cares about the unit. Julie participates in shared governance and is a leader for her peers. A peer leader is a huge strength and exactly what the ED needs. Everyone knows they can go to Julie and their voice matters and will be heard. Julie also spends her free time attending magnet conferences and coming up with fun unit bonding activities. She even reads books about how to inspire and motivate ER staff.

While Julie has only been a nurse for 2 years, she is a strong leader in the ED and looked upon by several staff members. Her glowing personality and smile are toxic and just spreads when she is around.

Julie was in CPOD one night working when a patient who wasn't hers started to rapidly decline. This patient was confused, disoriented, trying to leave, and very hypotensive. The patient needed to be on vasopressors but was so confused they ripped out their IV and we no longer had access. Julie was an angel. She held the patient's hand and sang to her while other nurses were able to get IV access. This took a very long time but Julie was calm and patient the entire time. She just kept holding her hand, redirecting her, and finding songs that the patient knew to help calm her down and cooperate. Because of Julie, we were able to avoid restraints and were able to safely care for the patient. I do not feel like I have explained this story to the extent of how amazing it was to witness in person. Because of Julie, the patient is better, the unit is better, and work is a brighter place to be.