February 2023
Amber
Hatt
,
BSN, RN
Critical Care
Atrium Medical Center
Middletown
,
OH
United States
Amber is just the sort of nurse we all want to work alongside and the person we want to care for our patients and our loved ones
Amber is a great nurse that exemplifies the agility of a tightrope walker, constantly seeks to maintain balance, and focuses on the clinical requirements of the most complex organism in nature, and not just one at a time. Being a nurse means you must be able to drop from your head to your heart in an instant when a patient, family, or colleague needs support, and you must do this in a way that communicates empathy without crossing boundaries and making the event about the patient. You must be a politician, negotiating with other providers and families, all with their your own agenda and priorities to develop the best plan of care for that patient. A great nurse must also be able to flip a switch and be fierce warrier, advocating when policies don't work. After twelve hours of all of this dancing, the nurse must go home to their families with completely different expectations and needs. These nurses must come back and do it again the next day. It is a remarkably demanding role. So when you find someone, like Amber, that performs this role so effectively, so consistently, so professionally, they must be acknowledged. Amber is just the sort of nurse we all want to work alongside and the person we want to care for our patients and our loved ones. She has confidence without arrogance and is perfectly willing to ask questions when she doesn't know and to teach others when she does. She feels deeply, but you would only know that if she wants you to and if she feels it appropriate for the moment. She is committed to her patients and will even do someone else's work and stay as long as it takes to get the job done. She will step out of her comfort zone just as many nurses will. However, what is remarkable about Amber is that she is mystified when someone else does not have the same work ethic. She doesn't think she's exceptional. She doesn't think she is a hero. For Amber, it simply means that she is a great nurse. We're privileged to work alongside someone who, through their example, challenges us all to be better!