Martha Namatende
February 2022
Martha
Namatende
,
RN
Ellison 12, Medicine
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston
,
MA
United States

 

 

 

I have had the pleasure firsthand of seeing Martha show compassion and care to her patients.
I was admitted to Mass General Hospital recently for a bowel obstruction and pneumonia. There were quite a few nurses that were caring for me, but there was one nurse, Martha who was amazing. So loving, caring and had a heart of gold. She made sure I was comfortable, and I got everything I needed from water, to food, to medication. Anything else I needed, she was there to get it and was also helping the person in the room and making sure the floor was clean and trash was emptied. There is not anything that Martha didn't do. She answered all my questions and listened to me. This nurse went beyond her job, did way too much for one nurse. She is incredible - one of a kind. If there is any nurse to be recognized, it should be MARTHA!! I never met a nurse so caring as Martha. She will do anything for anybody. Thank you, Martha, for all your help.

***

I have had the great pleasure of working with Martha on several occasions at Massachusetts General Hospital where I am currently a Hospitalist Physician Assistant. When I look back over my patient care experiences with the nursing staff at MGH Martha always stands out in my mind for a multitude of reasons. Martha’s compassion is unparallel. The acuity at MGH is at an all-time high with this ongoing pandemic. Staffing shortages, unprecedented patient admissions, and overall complexity of the patients we care for seem to be at its height. I’m not going to lie; times are tough, and this is not unique to MGH. What is unique to MGH, however, is Martha. I have had the pleasure firsthand of seeing Martha show compassion and care to her patients. I’ve witnessed her holding a patient’s hand who hated getting their blood drawn. I have seen her encourage her patients to advocate for themselves and what they feel is right. I have observed her conversations with family members providing peace of mind in times where visitor restrictions have prevented visitation. I have yet to meet a patient who did not fully enjoy having Martha on their care team.

Not only is Martha compassionate she is also trustworthy. To me this was a game-changer when working with Martha. I can recall a situation in which Martha and I shared an extremely sick patient who needed a lot of clinical care coordination, medication administration, and acute care diagnostics which all happened to be needed at the same time. When I work with Martha, I feel her confidence and have witnessed her skill she has it all handled with such grace and skill. She is an expert at multi-tasking, closed-loop communication, and procedural skill. I was nothing short of impressed after this experience. It has left a lasting experience with me. Leadership at its best.

Martha has the wonderful ability to multi-task and command a room. When resources are tight, Martha can use her resources, help others access resources, and provide instructions to others. She is generous with her time and knowledge and lights up the room when sharing her skillset. Nursing students love her, her co-workers love her, the hospital medicine unit loves her, and many more. In times of crisis, I know I can depend on her to lead the way.

Martha is a real-life superhero to me. I would trust her with not only my life but the lives of my loved ones. I only hope that whoever you are reading this recommendation can feel the emotion behind my words. I hope someday you get to meet Martha because I am confident that she will change your life just as she has changed mine.