Recently, we had a young patient who was extremely ill. We knew before she arrived at our ICU that she would require 1:1 nursing. Victoria willingly gave up her current assignment to accommodate this patient.

When the patient arrived, Victoria became very busy, as the patient was requiring a lot of care. She initially needed a line placement for HD, a procedure that required her to lay under a sterile drape for quite some time as the line was being placed. The patient was extremely frightened and tearful and was having difficulty staying still. Victoria got underneath the drape with the patient (to maintain the sterile field) and held her hand and talked to her for the next 30 minutes to an hour. Victoria was able to calm the patient so that the procedure could be done safely.

Shortly after, it was clear that the patient needed to be intubated. Again, the patient was very anxious and tearful. Victoria ensured that the patient’s mother was able to see her daughter prior to intubation, a moment that was helpful for both the patient and her mother. Again, she provided a calming presence for her patient and helped as best she could to ease the patient’s anxieties. This was a very difficult case, and Victoria maintained her composure and made sure to advocate for her patient and ensure that the patient’s thoughts and feelings were taken into consideration.

I feel so fortunate to work with Victoria and see her deliver kind and compassionate care on a daily basis. In this case, she truly went above and beyond to care for her critically ill patient and she deserves to be recognized.