The forgotten heroes of the hospital are the circulating nurses in surgery. Patients come to us scared, nervous, and unsure and the circulator is their advocate and voice while they are asleep. Lizz does everything in her power to explain all the details to her patients in preop and make sure that they feel well-assured and less anxious.

I have seen several instances where we've had patients from homes or centers come to us with unwashed hair, unbathed, or long nails and Lizz took the time out from her day to go to PACU and give the patient a bath, wash their hair, or cut their nails.

Lizz also is a big cheerleader for the hospital and department. I have heard her on several occasions spreading the word about how much she loves to work here, how great our doctors are, and how great the staff is. She has come in early to help in preop when they were short and often stayed late to finish cases when we've had multiple rooms running late.

Lizz is also an enthusiastic teacher. She loves receiving nursing students and trying to instill the love and amazement of the OR in them. She has precepted and trained several employees and is currently involved in cross-training PREOP/PACU staff to the OR.

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