Role Model Compassionate Care: 
Sarah’s commitment to patient care is unparalleled. She is known for her ability to connect with patients on a personal level, providing not only medical care but also emotional support. One instance that stands out to me is when she took the extra time to sit with her admission, a psych patient who was admitted for hyponatremia. The patient was feeling particularly anxious about being in the hospital and was not on her proper psychiatric medications due to her electrolyte imbalances. Sarah spent extra time with her, patiently listened to her concerns, and provided reassurance that significantly alleviated the patient’s anxiety. She even went above and beyond by calling the patient’s mother to get a better understanding of the patient, her history, and coping strategies that have helped her in the past. Her kindness and empathy turned a frightening experience into a manageable one for the patient.

Special Connection:
Another example that comes to mind when I think of Sarah is the time she cared for a patient that is very well-known to our team. This patient comes in often with drug overdoses requiring intubation. For many staff, it is hard to care for this patient because once he is medically better, he always signs himself out against medical advice. When intubated, he normally requires a lot of sedation to remain calm. I walked by one night as Sarah was standing at the side of the bed, holding his hand and reassuring him that he was okay and that he was safe. The next night, the patient had been extubated during the day and was back to his normal routine of signing out AMA. Sarah voiced her concerns to the patient about his well-being and he thanked her for her concerns. Although the patient still left AMA that shift, he made it a point to tell her he remembered her kind heart and gentle tone of voice from the night before when he was on the ventilator. He made the comment, “thank you for everything you did for me, you are the best nurse who ever cared for me.” Even though he is a very challenging patient, she never wavers from delivering compassionate, empathetic care.

Significant Difference:
Moreover, Sarah’s clinical skills are exemplary. She is always up-to-date with the latest nursing practices and takes the initiative to mentor new nurses. She often serves as the Clinical Nurse Transition Coach (CNTC) role, mentoring new graduate nurses in “best practice.” This role has been vital in the professional development of new bedside leaders as they transition into their nursing practice. As a leader and role model, she has formed trusting relationships that have enhanced collaboration in an effort to foster a healthy working environment for newer nurses. She has supported new nursing staff with problem-solving, critical thinking, time management, interdisciplinary communication, and delegation. Sarah has also mentored new grads in policy clarification and bedside clinical procedures to ensure “best practice” in the delivery of safe, competent patient care. She provides these nurses with a supportive, safe environment to ask questions and seek guidance, constructive feedback to enhance their performance, and praise and recognition for a job well done.

Sarah’s contributions extend beyond her direct patient care. She is an active participant in hospital committees focused on improving patient care and safety. Sarah played a crucial role in a re-vamping SRC’s End-of-Life Committee, a committee that had not been truly utilized since COVID. Sarah voiced her desire to help get the committee going again, and in turn, a lot of her coworkers followed her lead. We are working on a project to make little care packages to give to our unit staff after having a patient pass away. Sarah recognized the need for more staff support, to deal with the nurse burnout from seeing death so frequently in the MICU.