Donna Bruce RN, Lane Harrington ARNP,MN Chief Nurse Executive St. Francis Cabrini Hospital
September 2013
Donna
Bruce
,
RN
Family Centered Maternity Care
Christus St. Francis Cabrini Hospital
Alexandria
,
LA
United States

 

 

 

From Nursing Students:

Donna Bruce is an outstanding nurse as well as teacher. As a nursing student (NSU), Donna was very helpful in teaching me about nursing care while working with babies and mothers on the Labor & Delivery Unit. She is willing to sacrifice time and effort to better the workforce of future nurses. She exudes compassion for her patients and their families, coworkers, and nursing students. I am certain she is fulfilling her calling by bettering the future of nursing care by being a fantastic nurse.

...

I had the pleasure of meeting Donna during my last semester of nursing school (NSU). She is such a sweet person and an excellent nurse! She taught me so much about nursing and how to treat my patients. I admire her so much. As a new nurse, I am thankful to have someone like Donna to look up to.

...

I am a LC nursing student that got to follow and learn from Donna Bruce. She is experienced in her area of work and extremely talented in every skill she does. She challenged me to be the best student nurse I could be and taught me a great deal that I will remember forever!

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From Donna's Patient:

Donna Bruce was an great nurse during our stay at Cabrini when our son was born. She was very supportive and encouraging. It was obvious she was knowledgeable about how to care for our baby and she made it easy for us to ask questions when we did not understand. She put my mind at ease that I would be able to take good care of our new baby boy. Sometimes it is the smallest things people do and say that make a big difference; things that they do without thinking or trying to impress. Donna is simply a natural! Thank you for being a nurse and thank you for being our nurse!

...

From Donna's Patient's Family:

Let me tell you why I consider Donna Bruce a DAISY Nurse. As my family and I prepared for our new addition she opened up her heart and knowledge to help us be prepared. She made us very comfortable in the prenatal class and gave us the start we needed for the big day. She made herself available for calls of concern and put our minds at ease on several occasions. I am very aware of my limits of experience and knew I was totally out of my league when it came to "birthing babies". As nature happens or in our case was not happening and induction was going to be necessary we were overjoyed that Donna would be laboring with us and a little amazed because I knew she preferred working with the little ones and new moms after delivery.

This was just another day at work for her, but for us, our lives would never be the same and she treated us just that way. We knew we were in excellent hands and Donna was amazing! She never hesitated to inform us or ask if we had any questions and was our "open line" to our doctor at all times. At the point when it was decided to section instead of continuing with labor, she surprised me by changing gears. Donna prepared us for the C section by assuring us that from that point on another nurse would resume care of my daughter and that she then would be preparing for and then taking care of our baby as he is delivered.

Things were happening very quickly at that point but I overheard Donna joking about needing a "refresher course on getting something together that would be needed". I believe the physician's reply was something along the lines of "anytime Donna needs a refresher course on something is when I want to be leaving" indicating this physician's trust in her as well. There was never a moment that I did not believe both of my babies were in outstanding hands!

It is obvious that Donna loves nursing and holds very high standards for herself. Her demonstration of professionalism, compassion, confidence, sincerity, excellence and a genuine open honesty is top of the line and extraordinary. As she carried our new baby out to leave the hospital she told him to "be a good little boy for his momma." I then stated that if he didn't behave I would call her to come get him. Without missing a beat she whispered "go ahead and be very, very bad!" And I think she meant it!

What a treasure Cabrini has in Donna! Experience and excellence is something that cannot be underestimated and is irreplaceable. Donna Bruce is exactly what DAISY represents around the world.