Melinda J Meador
November 2023
Melinda J
Meador
,
RN
Med Surg. Progressive
Corewell Health South
Niles
,
MI
United States
Melinda has proven time and time again that being a nurse means having compassion.
I have been working with Melinda for just over a year now, and I still witness situations frequently that leave me in awe of her as a nurse. She has proven time and time again that being a nurse means having compassion. I see it when she deals with confused dementia patients asking for family members who are no longer with us, and she tells them they're at home sleeping to ease their minds. I see it when she deals with nonverbal patients as she talks to them and tries to get them to laugh or smile, even if she looks quite silly. She advocates for her patients and will have hard conversations with them other nurses may stray away from (last week, she helped an alcoholic patient possibly find an AA sponsor).
But the biggest reason why I believe she is deserving of this award is the compassion and patience she has had for me, a new nurse, as I navigate my first year. Over and over, I have been able to look to her, and she is always right there. She has been there in extremely overwhelming situations where I have patients in restraints trying to spit or bite me, calling me every bad name in the book. She has been there when I am slammed with admissions or falling behind etc., and she always asks what she can do to help me. Whether it’s passing meds, grabbing water, taking someone to the bathroom, etc., she always helps in some way. She always has the answer to any question I've had in my first year, and any time I had a new procedure or something I hadn't done since school she would go with me or show me how. Not once working with her have I felt judged or left to fend for my own when she is working as I learn how to navigate being a med surgical nurse.
It's not just me that she helps. She will help the techs get vitals or change patients, etc., with no hesitation, as there is often only one tech for our floor at night (if any). She helps respiratory out often as we only have one at night for our whole hospital. She deserves this award because she is the kind of nurse I'd like to be when I "grow up," and I think these qualities in a nurse deserve appreciation as they are not universally found.
But the biggest reason why I believe she is deserving of this award is the compassion and patience she has had for me, a new nurse, as I navigate my first year. Over and over, I have been able to look to her, and she is always right there. She has been there in extremely overwhelming situations where I have patients in restraints trying to spit or bite me, calling me every bad name in the book. She has been there when I am slammed with admissions or falling behind etc., and she always asks what she can do to help me. Whether it’s passing meds, grabbing water, taking someone to the bathroom, etc., she always helps in some way. She always has the answer to any question I've had in my first year, and any time I had a new procedure or something I hadn't done since school she would go with me or show me how. Not once working with her have I felt judged or left to fend for my own when she is working as I learn how to navigate being a med surgical nurse.
It's not just me that she helps. She will help the techs get vitals or change patients, etc., with no hesitation, as there is often only one tech for our floor at night (if any). She helps respiratory out often as we only have one at night for our whole hospital. She deserves this award because she is the kind of nurse I'd like to be when I "grow up," and I think these qualities in a nurse deserve appreciation as they are not universally found.