Stephanie is the kind of nurse who immediately brightens the atmosphere. She is gregarious, welcoming, and usually has some joke or story to tell, which keeps spirits up, especially at times like this, at 3 am. Besides this, however, Stephanie is a seasoned nurse with excellent assessment skills and the confidence to speak up on behalf of a patient. This is why I am nominating her.

Recently, I provided an anesthetic for a patient's c-section. This section was routine, despite the patient losing twice the normal amount of blood. Until the end of the operation, the patient was stable; however, just before transferring the patient to recovery, I noticed progressing hypotension. I asked that we leave the patient on the table to reassess and stabilize the blood pressure. While this was not Stephanie's patient, she was quick to begin assessment and call the physician back, twice, backing up my suspicion of continued uterine bleeding. Over the next few hours, which happened again around 3am, the patient received multiple transfusions and eventually an emergency hysterectomy, a life-saving measure. Without the influence of Stephanie and her confidence in her assessment of the patient, the patient would not have received attention so quickly, and the outcome could have been grave.

To be candid, Stephanie does not possess an empathy that is conveyed through soft words and hand-holding. But she exemplifies compassion by moving into action, and voicing an opposing opinion for the patient, a task many would avoid. She stayed in the room and continued to facilitate this patient's resuscitation, demonstrating excellent teamwork. As a nurse anesthetist, I considered her a teammate and peer; she has a wealth of OB knowledge and I trust her. She is a passionate nurse and a huge asset to the labor and delivery department at St Francis; she is the kind of nurse that the department needs to nurture younger nurses.