From the second I stepped foot onto night shift, I have seen myself grow substantially as a result of Lauren Minor’s guidance. She is an incredible leader that hones in on a nurse’s strength and is not afraid to challenge their weaknesses as an opportunity to grow. She is calm under pressure and is able to critically think to provide the best patient care in any circumstance. She serves many roles from the bedside, unit resource, and relief charge, often fluctuating between each role to fulfill the unit needs. While she is an incredible ICU nurse, I would like to take the time to focus on Lauren’s ability to connect with any patient she encounters.

On 5800 Cardiac, it is the night nurses’ duty to bathe, weigh, and change the linens of each patient (among other tasks) in addition to caring for these critically ill patients. On any given day that Lauren is caring for a patient, you would at least hear the statement “yup, that’s a Lauren bath” or “oh you are definitely Lauren’s patient” followed by audible laughs for the common knowledge of the pride Lauren places into her patient care. It is evident whom she is taken for by the pristine look the patient displays while you pass the room, visible even from the hallway. Despite the challenging shift she has faced, once she has safely stabilized her freshly post-operative open-heart surgery, she will take her time to bathe the patient, change out their linens (using home blankets if available), and placing final touches like a bow in a baby’s hair, so that when the patient’s parents return the following day they look a little less like all of the wires and tubes attached to them, and a little bit more like their baby. She does so without a single thought of receiving the credit, as her shift will be long since finished by the time the parents arrive. For the first year of my nursing career, I believed that the mother of one of our long-term patients had been doing the baby’s hair in cute hairstyles, not until a few years later did I discover that Lauren had been doing her hair each day that she had worked, even purchasing products to best suit the patient’s hair type.

One particular example that comes to mind occurred recently. Lauren was serving as the unit resource nurse. She quietly asked the bedside nurse if the patient was stable enough for her to wash the patient’s hair. After assessing the situation and determining the patient stable enough to do so, Lauren donned her isolation gear, and began what turned into a two-hour washing and styling of hair for a teenage girl who had previously been on ECMO, remained on CCRT, intubated, and in isolation due to COVID. The only reason anyone else found out that she had spent this careful time doing this act of kindness was that the patient’s hair was so long that she had to stand at the head of the bed and even with that given space her elbow hit the call light on accident. She was embarrassed to find out that the rest of us had caught her doing this selfless act. The patient’s family had not been able to spend much time with her and had only visited from the doorway, but they were grateful that their daughter was cared for in such a specific way. The patient died due to complications about a week later.

The greatest example of Lauren’s compassionate care was displayed early this October as she cared for a 17-year-old patient that was undergoing a risky open-heart operation, the second one in a week, with very low odds. The patient had been accompanied by both of her parents, who later recounted the stories to me. I had the honor of caring for this patient while post-operative, as she remained intubated and with limited communication due to the breathing tube, but surprisingly coherent despite sedation. The patient’s parents were tearful and explained how grateful that no matter the circumstances, they were thankful that their daughter had met Lauren. This patient is a huge fan of Harry Potter, an excellent artist, and a teacher’s aide in her mother’s classroom. Lauren and this patient bonded over her Harry Potter blanket and the friendship grew from there. Her mother recounted that “Lauren made her feel like she had someone she could connect with and talk to like a friend, not just her nurse.” Dad emphasized what a big deal this was as she is a child who has undergone 16 operations and had bilateral below-the-knee amputations, meeting many nurses and other healthcare professionals along the way. I do not include this detail to limit this patient because she is a phenomenal person, but to emphasize that Lauren sees the whole person, not just the disease or what others would consider a disability. As the patient lay there in the bed, she nodded her head and smiled in agreement. They continued to explain how Lauren had been the resource nurse on a different shift and she dropped everything she was doing to help calm the patient as she was nervous for her imminent PICC placement, just to hold her hand, which they reported made all the difference in the world as she has faced anxiety. These may seem like simple acts of kindness, but those small acts have large impacts on the world around us. While these are only two examples of the daily work that Lauren does, I believe that she is one of the nurses that everyone can look up to and she aims each day to keep the legacy that Dr. Bailey left behind, to “pursue excellence.”