The nurses and staff on 5 Med/Surg have continued to take on challenges, including caring for more critically ill patients. They do this with busy assignments in addition to these sicker patients. On one particular week, out of 20 patients, the 5 Med Surg staff had 9 COVID patients, 4 CAPD patients (all with exchanges 5 times per day) and 2 heparin drips. That particular week they also had stroke patients, cardiac cath patients, psych and alcohol affected patients. A 1:1 patient was added (for good measure). 5 Med-Surg has risen to the challenge. They have done this with grace and professionalism and teamwork second to none. Staff work together, helping who needs it as the patients get better or worse. They often have patients who progress very slowly - especially those on Airvo or oxygen trying to overcome hypoxia caused by COVID. These patients need encouragement. Their families need daily reassurance. The staff stays vigilant for a glimmer of improvement to share with patients and families. Then there are the patients with multi-system failures. The dialysis patients that are diabetic and might have an infection and do heal oh so slowly. Keeping their spirits up and helping them feel better on a daily basis is a challenge. The doctors have trust and reliance on the 5 Med Surg nurses. They rely on them for updates, for assistance and sometimes they even might expect the staff to practically perform miracles of one sort or another. The nurses and staff learn on a daily basis about prioritizing, about medical updates, about rare diseases and how to treat them. They work with other nursing departments, physical, occupational and speech therapy, pharmacists, and actually all the departments at Finley. In this month of Thanksgiving: may we be very thankful for the nurses and staff on 5 Med Surg.