Valerie Buchwald, RN

Val Buchwald is a fierce advocate. Sometimes this means speaking repeatedly to medical teams as a primary or charge RN to convey the urgency of a patient's physical needs. Sometimes it means speaking up for patients when they are unable to express their emotional needs, or they are intimidated by the people at the bedside. Other times it means setting firm boundaries with abusive patients on behalf of our team of caregivers.

Last night this meant going to bat for a patient with altered mental status, a language barrier, and in the custody of ICE officers. As a charge nurse covering an entire unit staffed by travel RNs, it would have been easy for Val to keep to herself, but she interceded on this patient's behalf multiple times throughout the night. Val is exactly the type of nurse that you would want caring for your loved ones, and we are so lucky to have her as a leader on our team. ​

Val sets a very high standard of care on our unit. She is a role model to a staff with many less experienced nurses, ​and helps to establish our culture of care for all of our new staff, nurses floating in, and travelers that come to help us out. Her passion for patient care makes ours a unit that others can be proud to work on. Even after twenty years in critical care, I find myself timid to speak up to others that feel unapproachable. Val is bold when it matters, and encourages me to remain steadfast when difficult conversations need to happen.