Pheadra Newson-Ruffin has been nursing as an LPN for years at Methodist South. In December 2010, she obtained her RN degree and passed her RN boards. Despite the fact that she has less than 1 year of RN experience, Pheadra has progressed into a stellar RN. She has stepped up to the plate and become the night shift charge nurse without hesitation due to the PCC being out on leave. She has effectively coordinated care, delegated patient care tasks, and solved staffing issues on many occasions. She can be called upon to come in at the last minute to work to ensure that the unit is not short staffed. During the ice/snow days earlier in the year, Pheadra braved driving on the Hernando Desoto Bridge on numerous trips to ensure that she was at work to accept her patient care assignment. Several of the 2nd floor associates have approached me to brag on and compliment how well Pheadra functions as the charge nurse. Adjectives that have been used to describe her are: “helpful, knowledgeable, calm, smart, and approachable.”

Pheadra frequently receives “Circles of Excellence” cards that describe her as, “A Guardian Angel”, “A Blessing from Above”, “Best Nurse” and the accolades go on and on.

Recently, while rounding on the unit, I was showered with praises on how well the staff had taken care of a particular patient. The patient stated that from their first encounter in ED throughout the whole stay, they were pleased and impressed with every associate. They went on to say that they wanted to single out one very special nurse who happened to be Pheadra. The patient and his family went on ranting and raving about how different Pheadra was in her care delivery. They stated that Pheadra informed them of everything in a way that they could really understand and they truly felt that Pheadra was taking care of the patient as if he were part of her family. This patient and his family stated that after the encounter with Pheadra, they really understood how dedicated, caring, and nurturing nurses can be. They stated that, “It will be hard for the next nurse to live up to Phaedra’s standards.”