May 2022
Sarah
Ryan
,
RN
N/A
UnityPoint Health - Finley Hospital
Dubuque
,
IA
United States

 

 

 

Sarah continued to show up for the patient and advocate on their behalf for the best possible outcome.
There is not one particular example of Sarah's compassion or excellence. It is just who Sarah is and how she guides our team. If I were to list the FOCUS values, I would be able to list something Sarah offers on each one. Because the FOCUS values are not something Sarah just promotes for the team, it is something she lives by. Sarah is an outstanding nurse, leader, and human!

Foster Unity: Sarah believes strongly that we are a team, and everyone is equal. Sarah treats us all like family and goes the extra mile to make sure to be there if we need anything. Sarah is always available if we need her. She teaches us to be a better person. Sarah has a heart of gold and only wishes us great success wherever our lives may take us. I have never had a manager like her in all my 25 years of healthcare work. I feel like I'm home every time I come to work, and I have Sarah to thank for that.

Owns the Moment: Sarah is the first to take on challenges that are placed before her. Sarah has faced some very challenging ordeals lately and has encountered each one with such professionalism and strength. Sarah supports the team and shields us with as much mama bear as possible. Sarah never lets us face a difficult situation alone. Sarah is very much an open book and takes each day as a learning opportunity. She then helps her team overcome and face the next day with promise and hope. It takes an amazing kind of soul that can do that for a team each and every day. Sarah is truly a mentor in life to me.

Champion Excellence: Sarah gives us the ability to take ownership of our unit. Sarah gives us the confidence to make decisions on our own. Sarah expects perfection of herself, but in such a way that we want to be the best for her. I have never worked with someone who has so much passion for the patients and their outcomes. It makes me want to be amazing every day. And if that is not championing excellence, then I don’t know what is.

UnityPoint: Sarah doesn't just work for UnityPoint she lives, sleeps, and breathes it. Sarah loves this organization and trusts in it. Like many of us, Sarah has been under an insurmountable amount of stress. But she shows up every day giving all to this organization, the unit, and the team. No matter the nasty obstacles that have been placed in the way, Sarah overcomes and does it with such pride and grace. Sarah is a force to be reckoned with and is such a huge asset to Finley itself.

Seize Opportunities: Sarah is always looking for opportunities to be seized. Sarah takes it upon herself to go above and beyond finding us learning opportunities and CEU's that pertain to broadening our rehab knowledge. Sarah worked diligently to start-up Health Psychology and let us attend the conference on teams, which was very interesting and much needed these days. She worked closely with our psychiatrist to get a pain clinic up and going for him at Finley. Sarah is constantly looking for ways to better the outcomes of our patients and keep the staff up to date on the always-changing field that is healthcare. I am hoping that after reading this that you are inspired by Sarah as much as I am every day.

Like I said before, Sarah is a mentor to me and I can only hope to be half the human Sarah is someday! The broad definition of a nurse is: “a person trained to care for the sick or infirm.” It implies the person carrying the title is simply provided resources on how to deliver care for those unable to care for themselves. It leaves volumes of words unspoken. It leaves endless emotions silenced. It takes an incredibly caring, patient, and passionate person to become a nurse. It takes an extra dose of resiliency, dedication, and focus to become a nurse leader. It takes someone who would allow their own personal and professional needs to go unmet simply to satisfy the needs of others. It takes someone who shows up daily and puts the time in to get the needed work done. It takes a one-of-a-kind person willing to go all-in for their team and for their patients. That is the type of nurse I'd want to care for me or my loved one. That is the type of nurse I'd want to work alongside and learn from. That is the type of nurse I'd be honored to call my coworker or leader. And That nurse is Sarah. Sarah shows up daily with a smiling face and a grateful heart. Sarah shows up daily even when it's not easy to show up.

Like many of us, Sarah has faced significant personal and professional events over the past year but Sarah still. Always. Shows. Up. Sarah demonstrates the ability to ensure everyone on the team feels valued and cared about. There is no 8 or 12-hour work day for Sarah. There is rarely an actual day off. She is available 24/7 to ensure the nurses and techs on the team feel supported to provide the best care to our patients. Our unit has recently cared for a complex patient with extreme family dynamics. Sarah entered this patient's room each and every day with a smile and a listening ear. Sarah continuously demonstrated the FOCUS values by fostering unity with her team to stay positive, owning the moment when difficult discussions needed to occur, and championing excellence by going above and beyond to meet (often impossible) demands. Sarah continued to show up for the patient and advocate on their behalf for the best possible outcome. Our unit and our organization as a whole are a little bit better simply because Sarah is a part of it.