Joselino Ulanday represents everything that a Nurse should be. He is very compassionate, professional and caring to not only patients but colleagues and other staff as well.

There have been so many situations where patients have become aggressive and violent towards other patients or staff. Mr. Ulanday would not think of himself first but rather the victim or the aggressor. He will instantly apply the techniques of "Handle with Care" to manage the aggressive and violent situation in a manner that would ensure the safety of the patient or patients and the staff. After every de-escalation, Joe, as he is usually addressed on the unit would seize the opportunity to lead in examining the circumstances that led to the behavior change and escalation and come up with plan of care to address the cause. He enjoys psychiatric nursing, de-escalation and violence prevention.

It is so difficult to mention one specific incident that Joe was involved in because he is everywhere and in everything. However, I will talk about this; we had a patient who was very violent and hurt about 6 staff. Joe independently researched on the patient's pathology and background and came up with a plan of care that really worked and helped tremendously in managing the patient's clinical condition. What is so special and unique about this situation was that the patient was not assigned to Joe and at that time was never going to be assigned to him because of the patient's legal status. This incident occurred during a period when Joe's father passed away but he still found time to call me and send his findings to me in order to help the PATIENT overcome the psychiatric battle that he was waging.

Joe is member of my de-escalation team for the patient care component as well as the debriefing team for the staff. He is the point person in Handle with Care Training and with a few staff here and myself conduct the Handle with Care Training for G-Yellow staff. In 2012, he led a team of trainers in training the ED staff numerous times and currently he is leading the team again to train all E-Blue staff in Verbal De-escalation, Being Conscious of Safety and Handle with Care. He was also a member of the team that was videotaped on the Environment of Care mandatories video clip on Handle with Care. Even though the Charge RN in G-Yellow is the staff required to respond to the Crisis Response calls all over the hospital, Joe would always accompany the team to help in managing these crisis calls.

I had asked Joe one day why he came to work a day after experiencing a deep scratch in the abdomen by a patient. He smiled and said, "I did not show it to my wife." He smiled again and said, "I have to set the example for the rest of the staff to follow." He said he wanted the staff also to know that it was not the patient's fault but that it was the illness that caused the patient to attack him. Furthermore, that same patient who attacked him needs to be cared for as well as the other patients and that he has to come and perform his professional responsibilities. Staying home, he felt would have sent the wrong message. I thought this was very profound and represents everything that we as nurses stand for and aspire to achieve. He is a shining example for the staff. With Joe, it is not only the sacrifices that he personally makes for the unit and the hospital as a whole but the manner that he performs these roles is what clearly distinguishes him from the pack. He performs all these responsibilities from his heart without consideration of anything.

Joe is the consummate professional and his love for his patients and staff transcends the ordinary. I would be very glad if he is given the chance to contest for this award.