During a recent rapid response, Emily seamlessly shifted from being a nurse admitting a new patient to opening the door of that room, finding her teammate crouched down with dizziness and tachycardia and taking over the role of now caring for HER. She calmly requested that the ill teammate attempt vasal vagal maneuvers. She then gave succinct instructions to the other 4B nurses: "call a rapid response", "get a blanket so we can lay her down", "get a cart", and "how about a cool washcloth?" The ill coworker expressed her worries, to which Emily directed her to focus on "looking at her" while she guided the coworker in taking deep breaths & reassured her that help was here. Emily EVEN accompanied her down to the ED, knowing that a familiar face during a scary time was needed. She didn't leave her side until a replacement support person was able to arrive. This example is what I consider to be the epitome of a great nurse: astutely assessing the situation at hand, attending to the patient as a whole (cool washcloth for comfort, eye contact to reign in worries), and being attuned enough to know when and how you're needed even when it's not overtly stated.

A few years ago, Emily and I had been talking about which coworker we'd feel reassured to hypothetically have as our own nurse. At that time, I had said that I would trust her to care for me. After seeing Emily care for our coworker the way she did, I 100% stand by my original choice.