When rounding on a patient, she told me, “I LOVE your nurse Sara. You need to clone her.” I asked which Sara because we have two and she stated she “did not know her last name but she has a Great Dane.” Everyone knows that is Sara Funderburk. The patient’s face lit up when speaking about Sara. She said Sara took the time to sit and talk with her. She explained everything from medications and why she was taking them, how to move around the room so she can make it to the bathroom in a timely manner while hooked up to the IV (she was prepping for a colonoscopy and often couldn’t wait for a nurse or PCA) and she helped the patient feel calm. While these sound like typical things our nurses do every day, when looking around her room, you realize it was not typical care. Sara wrote on her water cup “the good stuff” to help her differentiate between the “colonoscopy prep” and her regular water. Sara even put her prep in a “souvenir cup” with ice to make it more palatable and aesthetically pleasing to drink. When I looked on the board, Sara had written words of encouragement to the patient “You’ve got this!” with hearts all over. When she had to have her blood drawn after her procedure, she was nauseous and was told to not look at the “many vials they took for me.” She said, “Sara was at my side, holding my hand and showing me pictures and videos of her dog Luna to help keep me calm.” “With Sara, I felt like I was in the best hands. She brought the other nurses in and introduced me to them during shift change and made sure that everyone I met understood what was going on with me, and that I knew who they were. Sara was so kind and knowledgeable. She made sure I was always kept informed and took the time to explain anything I did not understand.” Sara went above and beyond her call of caring for this patient. Sara alone took a patient who is petrified of hospitals and physicians and helped make her feel comfortable and calm during a scary time in her life. If we had more nurses like Sara, the world would be a better place.

Note: This is Sara's 2nd DAISY Award!