Kristina exemplifies ethical nursing in all aspects of her nursing career. She is a patient, staff and family advocate and is not afraid to challenge the norm or speak up for what is right. This Nominee is a charge nurse in the highest acuity intensive care unit in San Diego County. Her ability to handle acute changes in patient conditions, staffing challenges, provider & hospital requests, as well as navigating complex family situations is remarkable. She always has a smile on her face and maintains a professional demeanor no matter the complex nature of the situation. 

Kristina shows acts of kindness in all that she does. She continually takes on additional tasks so that patients and families have an improved experience. She recently was notified that a patient's lunch tray was late. She called the cafeteria, but due to unforeseen circumstances, they were extremely delayed. This patient is in a fragile recovery state and does not have control over very many things. Recognizing that food is one thing that this patient can control, Kristina offered to purchase the patient's lunch. She obtained a lunch voucher to use in the cafeteria to purchase the patient's lunch. This is just one example of her exemplary actions.   

Another example is when we experienced a death in our ICU family. One of our nurses’ aides was taken too early by cancer. The nurses' aid was cherished and loved, and this was tremendously hard for the entire ICU team, but especially difficult for her daughter, who also works in our unit. She was quick to act, having lost her mother to cancer, she empathetically related to the pain and devastation that our staff member was going through. She immediately reached out to the daughter to offer support and see what she needed during this difficult time. She then started a monetary donation campaign to assist this family and a PTO donation through HR to allow the daughter to have paid time away to grieve properly without the financial burden of missing work. Kristina ensured there were sympathy cards on the unit for all staff to sign and provided flowers for the funeral. She worked with the management team on unit scheduling for the day of the funeral, ensuring all staff who wanted to attend could do so. Kristina's actions positively impact our unit staff, patients, and families every day. 

In the above examples, she empowered the patient to maintain control of his food and provided a positive overall experience for this patient and his family. The Nominee does not take no for an answer. But rather changes the perspective and continually pursues the best pathways and outcomes for our patients and families. In the second example, Kristina wrapped the staff and family in support both financially and emotionally. She provided comfort, time to grieve, and the ability to attend the funeral of the ICU family member who was taken too soon. The organization greatly benefits from Kristina. She takes newer nurses under her wing and helps them to grow into strong, independent ICU nurses. She never places judgment and is always willing to have discussion and collaboration, no matter how challenging the topic. She has been a voice of reason for many discussions and always keeps an open mind. She can focus on intricate details but also sees the big picture, both in patient care and unit operations. She is greatly appreciated by all who have had the privilege to work with her.