During these healthcare challenging times, it is easy to focus on tasks and doing all we can to keep our patients alive. The pandemic, never-ending surges, high acuity, and staffing shortages make nurses concentrate on making sure our patients do not deteriorate medically. This definitely does not apply to our Charge Nurse on 3N – Lesley Cole! She is the consummate grace-under-fire and maintains her composure during the hectic flow of the workday. She also notices the little things in our patients (medically and psychosocially).

One such patient has been with us for almost a month – severely agitated, constant non-purposeful movements, removing her clothes and devices, loud outbursts, and minimal visits from her family. With visitors back on the floors, it was concerning for our patient to be in different states of undress and her privacy in view. Lesley’s kindness and compassion led her to purchase some cute onesies, PJs, and underwear for this patient. Lesley did this quietly without tooting her horn. This kind gesture provided love and care to the patient. Even when she was agitated, the onesies and PJs kept her clothed and maintained her dignity. We only found out about this loving-kindness during IDRs because the provider mentioned it as he was in the room when Lesley brought the clothing.

Lesley’s kindness, compassion, and selflessness extol the virtues of the DAISY Award. She has demonstrated empathy and an extraordinary delivery of all-around patient care. Additionally, Lesley’s show of compassion reminds each of us why we chose the nursing profession – to help humanity.