June 2009
Donna
Wertheim
,
RN
NICU
Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital
St. Petersburg
,
FL
United States

 

 

 

I recently had a fabulous experience when I had to float to NICU. My enjoyable night was impacted by a caring charge nurse named Donna Wertheim. That evening, I was already in a hurry to arrive to work when I received a call from my floor informing me I was floating to NICU. Since NICU starts their shifts an hour earlier than our floor, I was panicked that I would get a written report from the nurses and be an hour behind on my patient's feeds and assessments. When I arrived to the unit, Donna warmly introduced herself and immediately made me feel at home. She gave me report on my two babies, introduced me to the other nurses in the pod and showed me where all the equipment was located. While I got settled, she started one of my baby's vital signs, measurements (height, weight, abdominal girth and head circumference)and first feed so that I would be caught up. She also took the time to show me how to use their charting system. Donna went above and beyond in making me feel comfortable by answering all my questions and assisting me when help was needed. I will never forget my experience with working in NICU. I feel that if more nurses followed her example, floating to other floors would be a more pleasant experience for all employees.