I have worked closely with Sarah for many years. She is a caring, compassionate nurse who provides excellent care to her patients. Her thorough evaluation of each patient helps enable the anesthesia staff as well as the patient's provider to ensure safety during the surgical procedure. Sometimes, due to Sarah's evaluation, medical conditions have been revealed that may jeopardize safety during surgery. Her notification then prompts anesthesia or the surgery staff to further evaluate the patient before a procedure. Although not a common occurrence in our department, when found, this discovery could prevent complications during the patient's procedure.
Additionally, I am impressed by Sarah's willingness to help others. She can fulfill the role of Unit Clerk when situations arise, and our clerk is absent. She stocks rooms, makes outbound calls to post op patients to check their condition after surgery, cleans rooms when our housekeeping staff is overwhelmed, and helps other nurses get patients ready for a procedure. Her smile and sense of humor make us all feel better on days when we are so busy.
Sarah can also step in as the Charge Nurse. Recently, our charge nurse had an emergency medical condition and was out for several weeks. Without being asked, Sarah stepped into the charge nurse role and worked additional days/hours in order to make sure that position was filled each day. Our unit ran smoothly and efficiently. We were all glad Sarah volunteered for this role until our regular charge nurse returned.
I have worked with hundreds of nurses, but only a handful could be described as "super-human." Sarah, in my opinion, is truly one of those. Having read about the DAISY Award as well as having known others who have received this award, I feel Sarah exemplifies the type of nurse that patients and their families, as well as members of the clinical staff, recognize as an outstanding role model. I know I am certainly glad that I have been able to work with her these past many years.