Tara Stampe
September 2013
Tara
Stampe
,
RN, BSN
Surgical Advanced Care Unit
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York
,
NY
United States
Tara Stampe is one of the kindest, most warm, friendly nurses that we have the pleasure of working with on Memorial 18. She is the type of person that will help anyone, always has a kind word to say and is very dedicated to her patients. She will walk on the unit in the morning with a little tray of treats and put them out when she knows everyone needs a little pick me up. Her positivity is contagious!
...
I was extremely fortunate to have Tara as my nurse for almost my entire stay at MSKCC. She was the best - incredibly detailed, thorough, knowledgeable and comforting. She helped me through the most difficult experience I have ever faced and I am very grateful. She has definitely found the right calling and is a born natural at nursing.
...
Tara was taking care of a patient admitted from UCC after an outpatient visit for a deteriorating respiratory status, and within a couple of days he was on 80% optiflow (high flow oxygen) and was made DNR. He went for an outpatient visit for pre-surgical testing for a biopsy and then was admitted to the hospital. He had no clue he was that sick and he was upset needless to say. He had lost his wife 10 years before and met a woman at his grief counsel group who he fell in love with and proposed to. They were engaged when he was made DNR and he wanted to marry her soon because he didn't know how long he had (and at that point we thought not long) and to get all his personal finances in place. Tara got Social Work Liz Blackler and Patient Rep Karen Wextler involved. Liz helped them get answers to what they needed to get done to make it a legal marriage. Tara arranged for chaplaincy to perform an informal ceremony in his room since he was on optiflow and not very mobile. Tara reached out to food services that catered the ceremony; they even had apple cider for a toast! Her parents came that Saturday for the ceremony which the patient and his now wife said was very special. They were even able to take a few pictures without his optiflow.
Unfortunately Tara wasn't there that day to partake in the festivities but when she returned to work on Monday she had him back. That Monday they were trying to get legally married which thankfully after the wife ran back and forth to city hall they were finally officially married! In the midst of all this his oxygen needs decreased and by the end of the week he was weaned to 5 liters of oxygen! This was exciting because all he wanted to do was be able to go home so he can have as much time as possible with his new wife and to figure out all these new changes that were brought upon him in the past week. So with the help of a lot of people with Tara spearheading the entire process, she was able to do something spectacular for a patient who didn't expect to get the worst news of his life.
...
I was fortunate to recently collaborate with M18 nurse, Tara Stampe, on a complicated case involving "Peter." Peter was a 64 year old male with IV melanoma metastasized to the lung admitted to the hospital. Ms. Stampe spent a considerable amount of time getting to know Peter and his longtime girlfriend. Peter was anxious and overwhelmed with news that his cancer had progressed and treatment options were limited. As Peter grappled with the severity of his illness, changes in functional status, and poor prognosis, he expressed a wish to formally marry his longtime girlfriend. Ms. Stampe identified the urgency of Peter's request and immediately contacted me to assist. Together with chaplaincy and the NYC County Clerk's Office we were able to facilitate a marriage license and arrange for a bedside ceremony. Ms. Stampe displayed patience and compassion when working with Peter and his family. In a short amount of time, Ms. Stampe built a strong, empathetic relationship with Peter and his family. She identified his dying and worked seamlessly with the interdisciplinary team to facilitate his wedding in an expedited manner. Ms. Stampe demonstrates exceptional interpersonal skills and approaches the challenges of patient care in a comprehensive cancer center with passion and zeal.
...
I had the pleasure of having a patient on our floor the day he got married. I had him the week before when he was getting work ups to diagnose him and he was in a double room. I received in report that he had a very poor prognosis and was going to be getting married, and Tara Stampe had organized everything. I was not quite sure what that entailed and neither had the patient. Tara had clearly gone above and beyond to make this as special as possible for the patient. Tara had rearranged the board so that he could be moved to a private room for the ceremony. She facilitated the chaplain services to become involved and perform the ceremony. The couple was shocked when flowers were delivered to their room. There was a beautiful arrangement for the room, white flowers for the bride to hold that matched her white dress perfectly, and a boutonniere for the groom that Tara had ordered for them. The ceremony was emotionally filled yet wonderful. The family was extremely appreciative to have a private room where they could take pictures. Once the ceremony was finished, with perfect timing, dining services knocked on the door and delivered a large cart full of specialties including apple cider, champagne glasses, a cake, fruit salad, and cheese and crackers. Tara had done such a great job at making this as special as possible for the patient, his wife, and their family. Although the patient expressed that this was not the way he had planned to marry his wife, he made it very clear that he could not be more appreciative of all that Tara had done for him and that she had changed his life.
...
Most people would describe Tara as the "nurse with the high voice", which is a very accurate description. However, one could easily say that she is also the kind nurse, the compassionate nurse, your best advocate, your second set of hands in time of crisis, and a genuine team player. Today I've heard Tara console my patient through a period of confusion, assist me in putting my patient back to bed, continue to independently check on my confused patient, advocate for her patient in pain, maintain hope in a patient that was feeling discouraged, make other coworkers laugh, and provide compliment after compliment. I consistently receive patients that ask about Tara and follow up on her schedule, in the hopes that she will be their nurse again. As a colleague, I love working with Tara because I know that she will always be there when I need help and will make me laugh at least once during my shift.
...
Tara Stampe is an outstanding nurse and coworker on M18. Her caring and empathetic nature is evident to everyone she comes in contact with, whether it be patients, staff or administration. Tara is hard working and always quick to lend a helping hand. Tara is a true role model for all nurses, both new and old.
...
Tara started her career in HR, then worked as an outstanding UA and PCT on M18 and has been a floor nurse for 2 years. She is known for her high standard of performance. She cares for patients and family members with respect and dignity and is a great asset to this hospital as well as the local community. Tara has a passion for nursing and healthcare overall. She is well known throughout the hospital for her compassion and energy. She is always courteous and helpful to others. She is highly respected by her peers and appreciated by her patients because of the way she treats others. Tara adapts her plan of care to include and meet the age-specific and cultural needs of her patients. She is seen as a very positive person of the team and exhibits a "win-win" philosophy. Tara is efficient and thorough in her work and finishes the job in a timely manner. The combination of her high ethical standards and vast experience enable her to be an excellent mentor to other employees. She is highly respected by those with whom she comes in contact and is an exemplary role model to others in the unit as well as the hospital. Tara represents the hospital well as she strives for excellence in problem solving and patient care.
...
Over the past few months I have had the pleasure of being mentored by Tara. She has truly opened my eyes up to what it means to be an MSKCC nurse. She not only amazes me by her critical thinking skills and nursing knowledge, but she has a nursing philosophy that truly exemplifies patient-centered care. She has gone above and beyond for patients to ensure all of their needs are met. Whether it is providing thorough teaching sessions to ensuring a patient has a cake and balloons to celebrate their birthday. Time and time again I have had patients tell me how amazing Tara treated them or how lucky I was to have the opportunity to be taught by her. I could not agree more. I hope that someday I become half of the exceptional nurse that Tara exemplifies. Aside from being a favorite among the patients of M18, she is also an excellent contributor to the M18 workflow. She is always willing to help out the other nurses of the unit and she does it with a smile across her face. Tara stays calm and optimistic even in the toughest of situations. Her composure allows for patient's to feel that they are in the best of hands. They couldn't be more correct. They are in the care of one of MSKCC's best nurses.
...
Tara was so accommodating. She helped make me feel safe and secure through all these frightening tests and even more frightening news. She is a true angel!
...
Tara Stampe truly exemplifies all of the qualities of a nurse worthy of the DAISY Award. She is an extremely caring and compassionate individual who goes above and beyond her responsibilities as an RN to make her patients feel special. Recently, she took care of a patient who was newly diagnosed and engaged to be married. She was concerned that given his prognosis he would not be able to fulfill his wish to marry his fiance. The wedding took place on M-18 on a Saturday afternoon and it was truly a beautiful ceremony. I was quite touched by Tara's absolute dedication to making this wedding take place. I am very proud to be the Clinical Nurse Specialist on M-18 and to have the honor of working with nurses like Tara.
...
It is without reservation and with extreme pleasure that I nominate Tara Stampe for the esteemed Daisy Award. Tara is currently a CNII on Memorial 18, Thoracic Surgery and the Surgical Advanced Care Program. Tara exemplifies all the attributes necessary to care for post operative patients after undergoing highly complex surgical procedures. She receives many accolades from her patients while under her care. Tara's kind, compassionate and proficient patient care is often exemplified by the many caring hearts her patients write after having Tara as a primary nurse.
Most recently Tara developed a very special connection with one of her and unfortunately the patient was unresectable and his prognosis was very poor. This news was devastating to both the patient and his family. However, Tara's calm demeanor and compassionate professionalism helped keep this emotionally charged situation to a minimum. Tara developed a very trusting relationship with both the patient and his girlfriend and helped to fulfill the patient's wish to get married as quickly as possible. The collaborative effort initiated by Tara impacted not only the patient but all of his loved ones who were able to witness this wonderful event. This is only one example of the extraordinary care that Tara provides to all of her patients on a daily basis.
Tara's interpersonal skills amongst her colleagues and peers have been integral in making Memorial 18 a cohesive work environment and has attributed to our excellent patient satisfaction scores on the Press Ganey report. Tara is willing to change her schedule to meet the demands of the unit and his flexible in accommodating her colleagues when familial obligations arise. Tara will often offer to stay late to assist the night shift when staffing is not optimal and often avails herself to other units to help meet their patient needs. She always faces the challenges of the work day with an enthusiastic smile and a positive attitude. Most recently, Tara participated in a four mile run with her colleagues to promote Lung Cancer Awareness. Throughout the run Tara encouraged her colleagues to finish the race and enjoy the day. Tara participates in all unit based activities and will often come in on her day off to attend a unit function to celebrate a colleague's impending marriage or pregnancy.
I am very proud to be Tara's Nurse Leader. I have known Tara since she was a Unit Assistant and transitioned to a Patient Care Technician while she attended nursing school. Tara has brought her committed, compassionate work ethic to all of her roles and consistently treats everyone she encounters with respect and professionalism.
...
I was extremely fortunate to have Tara as my nurse for almost my entire stay at MSKCC. She was the best - incredibly detailed, thorough, knowledgeable and comforting. She helped me through the most difficult experience I have ever faced and I am very grateful. She has definitely found the right calling and is a born natural at nursing.
...
Tara was taking care of a patient admitted from UCC after an outpatient visit for a deteriorating respiratory status, and within a couple of days he was on 80% optiflow (high flow oxygen) and was made DNR. He went for an outpatient visit for pre-surgical testing for a biopsy and then was admitted to the hospital. He had no clue he was that sick and he was upset needless to say. He had lost his wife 10 years before and met a woman at his grief counsel group who he fell in love with and proposed to. They were engaged when he was made DNR and he wanted to marry her soon because he didn't know how long he had (and at that point we thought not long) and to get all his personal finances in place. Tara got Social Work Liz Blackler and Patient Rep Karen Wextler involved. Liz helped them get answers to what they needed to get done to make it a legal marriage. Tara arranged for chaplaincy to perform an informal ceremony in his room since he was on optiflow and not very mobile. Tara reached out to food services that catered the ceremony; they even had apple cider for a toast! Her parents came that Saturday for the ceremony which the patient and his now wife said was very special. They were even able to take a few pictures without his optiflow.
Unfortunately Tara wasn't there that day to partake in the festivities but when she returned to work on Monday she had him back. That Monday they were trying to get legally married which thankfully after the wife ran back and forth to city hall they were finally officially married! In the midst of all this his oxygen needs decreased and by the end of the week he was weaned to 5 liters of oxygen! This was exciting because all he wanted to do was be able to go home so he can have as much time as possible with his new wife and to figure out all these new changes that were brought upon him in the past week. So with the help of a lot of people with Tara spearheading the entire process, she was able to do something spectacular for a patient who didn't expect to get the worst news of his life.
...
I was fortunate to recently collaborate with M18 nurse, Tara Stampe, on a complicated case involving "Peter." Peter was a 64 year old male with IV melanoma metastasized to the lung admitted to the hospital. Ms. Stampe spent a considerable amount of time getting to know Peter and his longtime girlfriend. Peter was anxious and overwhelmed with news that his cancer had progressed and treatment options were limited. As Peter grappled with the severity of his illness, changes in functional status, and poor prognosis, he expressed a wish to formally marry his longtime girlfriend. Ms. Stampe identified the urgency of Peter's request and immediately contacted me to assist. Together with chaplaincy and the NYC County Clerk's Office we were able to facilitate a marriage license and arrange for a bedside ceremony. Ms. Stampe displayed patience and compassion when working with Peter and his family. In a short amount of time, Ms. Stampe built a strong, empathetic relationship with Peter and his family. She identified his dying and worked seamlessly with the interdisciplinary team to facilitate his wedding in an expedited manner. Ms. Stampe demonstrates exceptional interpersonal skills and approaches the challenges of patient care in a comprehensive cancer center with passion and zeal.
...
I had the pleasure of having a patient on our floor the day he got married. I had him the week before when he was getting work ups to diagnose him and he was in a double room. I received in report that he had a very poor prognosis and was going to be getting married, and Tara Stampe had organized everything. I was not quite sure what that entailed and neither had the patient. Tara had clearly gone above and beyond to make this as special as possible for the patient. Tara had rearranged the board so that he could be moved to a private room for the ceremony. She facilitated the chaplain services to become involved and perform the ceremony. The couple was shocked when flowers were delivered to their room. There was a beautiful arrangement for the room, white flowers for the bride to hold that matched her white dress perfectly, and a boutonniere for the groom that Tara had ordered for them. The ceremony was emotionally filled yet wonderful. The family was extremely appreciative to have a private room where they could take pictures. Once the ceremony was finished, with perfect timing, dining services knocked on the door and delivered a large cart full of specialties including apple cider, champagne glasses, a cake, fruit salad, and cheese and crackers. Tara had done such a great job at making this as special as possible for the patient, his wife, and their family. Although the patient expressed that this was not the way he had planned to marry his wife, he made it very clear that he could not be more appreciative of all that Tara had done for him and that she had changed his life.
...
Most people would describe Tara as the "nurse with the high voice", which is a very accurate description. However, one could easily say that she is also the kind nurse, the compassionate nurse, your best advocate, your second set of hands in time of crisis, and a genuine team player. Today I've heard Tara console my patient through a period of confusion, assist me in putting my patient back to bed, continue to independently check on my confused patient, advocate for her patient in pain, maintain hope in a patient that was feeling discouraged, make other coworkers laugh, and provide compliment after compliment. I consistently receive patients that ask about Tara and follow up on her schedule, in the hopes that she will be their nurse again. As a colleague, I love working with Tara because I know that she will always be there when I need help and will make me laugh at least once during my shift.
...
Tara Stampe is an outstanding nurse and coworker on M18. Her caring and empathetic nature is evident to everyone she comes in contact with, whether it be patients, staff or administration. Tara is hard working and always quick to lend a helping hand. Tara is a true role model for all nurses, both new and old.
...
Tara started her career in HR, then worked as an outstanding UA and PCT on M18 and has been a floor nurse for 2 years. She is known for her high standard of performance. She cares for patients and family members with respect and dignity and is a great asset to this hospital as well as the local community. Tara has a passion for nursing and healthcare overall. She is well known throughout the hospital for her compassion and energy. She is always courteous and helpful to others. She is highly respected by her peers and appreciated by her patients because of the way she treats others. Tara adapts her plan of care to include and meet the age-specific and cultural needs of her patients. She is seen as a very positive person of the team and exhibits a "win-win" philosophy. Tara is efficient and thorough in her work and finishes the job in a timely manner. The combination of her high ethical standards and vast experience enable her to be an excellent mentor to other employees. She is highly respected by those with whom she comes in contact and is an exemplary role model to others in the unit as well as the hospital. Tara represents the hospital well as she strives for excellence in problem solving and patient care.
...
Over the past few months I have had the pleasure of being mentored by Tara. She has truly opened my eyes up to what it means to be an MSKCC nurse. She not only amazes me by her critical thinking skills and nursing knowledge, but she has a nursing philosophy that truly exemplifies patient-centered care. She has gone above and beyond for patients to ensure all of their needs are met. Whether it is providing thorough teaching sessions to ensuring a patient has a cake and balloons to celebrate their birthday. Time and time again I have had patients tell me how amazing Tara treated them or how lucky I was to have the opportunity to be taught by her. I could not agree more. I hope that someday I become half of the exceptional nurse that Tara exemplifies. Aside from being a favorite among the patients of M18, she is also an excellent contributor to the M18 workflow. She is always willing to help out the other nurses of the unit and she does it with a smile across her face. Tara stays calm and optimistic even in the toughest of situations. Her composure allows for patient's to feel that they are in the best of hands. They couldn't be more correct. They are in the care of one of MSKCC's best nurses.
...
Tara was so accommodating. She helped make me feel safe and secure through all these frightening tests and even more frightening news. She is a true angel!
...
Tara Stampe truly exemplifies all of the qualities of a nurse worthy of the DAISY Award. She is an extremely caring and compassionate individual who goes above and beyond her responsibilities as an RN to make her patients feel special. Recently, she took care of a patient who was newly diagnosed and engaged to be married. She was concerned that given his prognosis he would not be able to fulfill his wish to marry his fiance. The wedding took place on M-18 on a Saturday afternoon and it was truly a beautiful ceremony. I was quite touched by Tara's absolute dedication to making this wedding take place. I am very proud to be the Clinical Nurse Specialist on M-18 and to have the honor of working with nurses like Tara.
...
It is without reservation and with extreme pleasure that I nominate Tara Stampe for the esteemed Daisy Award. Tara is currently a CNII on Memorial 18, Thoracic Surgery and the Surgical Advanced Care Program. Tara exemplifies all the attributes necessary to care for post operative patients after undergoing highly complex surgical procedures. She receives many accolades from her patients while under her care. Tara's kind, compassionate and proficient patient care is often exemplified by the many caring hearts her patients write after having Tara as a primary nurse.
Most recently Tara developed a very special connection with one of her and unfortunately the patient was unresectable and his prognosis was very poor. This news was devastating to both the patient and his family. However, Tara's calm demeanor and compassionate professionalism helped keep this emotionally charged situation to a minimum. Tara developed a very trusting relationship with both the patient and his girlfriend and helped to fulfill the patient's wish to get married as quickly as possible. The collaborative effort initiated by Tara impacted not only the patient but all of his loved ones who were able to witness this wonderful event. This is only one example of the extraordinary care that Tara provides to all of her patients on a daily basis.
Tara's interpersonal skills amongst her colleagues and peers have been integral in making Memorial 18 a cohesive work environment and has attributed to our excellent patient satisfaction scores on the Press Ganey report. Tara is willing to change her schedule to meet the demands of the unit and his flexible in accommodating her colleagues when familial obligations arise. Tara will often offer to stay late to assist the night shift when staffing is not optimal and often avails herself to other units to help meet their patient needs. She always faces the challenges of the work day with an enthusiastic smile and a positive attitude. Most recently, Tara participated in a four mile run with her colleagues to promote Lung Cancer Awareness. Throughout the run Tara encouraged her colleagues to finish the race and enjoy the day. Tara participates in all unit based activities and will often come in on her day off to attend a unit function to celebrate a colleague's impending marriage or pregnancy.
I am very proud to be Tara's Nurse Leader. I have known Tara since she was a Unit Assistant and transitioned to a Patient Care Technician while she attended nursing school. Tara has brought her committed, compassionate work ethic to all of her roles and consistently treats everyone she encounters with respect and professionalism.