Felicia embodies all the traits an RN should have. Regardless of her own personal medical battle, she always made sure to be available to her patients. Patients have shared with us that she always had words of encouragement during their scary cancer battle. She demonstrated compassion by always providing a listening ear regardless of how busy she was. She has even taken time out to speak at our breast cancer support group during her days off. Although she is no longer with us she truly is a role model to all the nurses in our department.
Leadership: She demonstrated leadership skills by taking on the initiative in being available to her fellow nurses when they needed help with IVs, were running behind, or needed help calming a patient who was anxious, nervous, and/or scared on their first day of chemotherapy.
Commitment to Excellence: If there was one thing about Felicia, it was her commitment to nursing excellence. Whether she was in the ICU or Infusion Center, she made sure to keep herself well informed and up to date on disease processes, medications, and symptom management, so that she could pass this information to her co-workers and patients she cared for in the Infusion Center.
Clinical Skills: She was a nurse that can be counted on when it came to her expertise on starting IVs among her many skills. She would make sure that she first provided the emotional support needed by the patient, then would take her time to thoroughly assess the patients' veins makings sure that she would get it on the first attempt while making sure to be as gentle as possible.
Compassionate Care: Even though she was dealing with her own cancer diagnosis, Felicia was always available to be a support to that patient who was upset, sad, or scared. She always managed to have the right words, that would put a smile on your face, inspire you, and put you at ease.
Positive Influence: Felicia was a great example of positive influence in how she made sure to always have a smile while at work even when she was dealing with her own cancer diagnosis and not feeling her best. She would show up with a smile on her face ready to work, take care of her patients and provide words of wisdom that would get you through whatever you were dealing with or feeling at that moment.
Exemplary Service: She provided exemplary service in all she did in her day-to-day life as a mother, friend, and nurse. She always made sure that you were well taken care of and anticipated what you needed and made you feel special. Her exemplary service can be seen in the examples in the above behaviors that she displayed in her day-to-day life.