Jessica Smith
June 2025
Jessica
Smith
,
RN
PICU
Yale New Haven Hopsital
New Haven
,
CT
United States
Jess also offered the family to come to the patient, which was simply heartbreaking, but it was the right thing to do. This event took the better part of an hour, Jess never faltered, stayed true to task, and never lost her cool.
Role Model Compassionate Care:
We were paged to an Adult Rapid Response in the ED CT Scanner. Our team is very used to walking into the unknown, but a call to CT Scan is usually out of character. Upon arrival, we could tell this was bad, and then noticed a young child on the table. As soon as we walked in, we were directed by a nurse whom I had seen for years but never knew her name or met her until this moment. Her name is Jess Smith, and she’s one of the PICU nurses. It took me a few days to author this because I needed to digest the magnitude of what I experienced that night.
The only way I can describe what I saw is to relate it to a tornado. In the center of the cyclone was Jess, the outer bands were all of us asking a thousand questions, and making every attempt in the situation to complete tasks. It was like she was there, and there was all this stuff flying around her, and she had complete control over every single minute detail. She assigned roles, preplanned upcoming interventions, had meds lined up so there was no wait time and even called for help while all this was going on.
Special Connection:
Jess also offered the family to come to the patient, which was simply heartbreaking, but it was the right thing to do. This event took the better part of an hour, Jess never faltered, stayed true to task, and never lost her cool. Though our best effort was put forward, this beautiful little eight-year-old boy was called home that night. As a final honor of respect, Jess coordinated the doctors to take the boy’s parents back to his room while she had the team make him presentable. Another amazing nurse brought down the boy's own personal blankets to make sure he was wrapped in love. They then brought the boy back to PICU.
Significant Difference:
The level of nursing in the room that night was beyond anything I have ever seen in my more than 15 years as a nurse and in my time as a SWAT nurse. There are no words to describe what Jess Smith brings to the table and the level of cool, competence she exudes. Jess makes nursing look easy, when in fact, that was one of the hardest situations I have ever been involved in. I think sometimes, as night employees, we don’t often get the recognition that day staff get because we aren’t as “seen.” Jess needs to be recognized for the value she brings to this institution. We need to elevate nurses like her and model her high standards. Jess is a true DAISY Nurse.
Note: This is Jess's 2nd DAISY Award!
We were paged to an Adult Rapid Response in the ED CT Scanner. Our team is very used to walking into the unknown, but a call to CT Scan is usually out of character. Upon arrival, we could tell this was bad, and then noticed a young child on the table. As soon as we walked in, we were directed by a nurse whom I had seen for years but never knew her name or met her until this moment. Her name is Jess Smith, and she’s one of the PICU nurses. It took me a few days to author this because I needed to digest the magnitude of what I experienced that night.
The only way I can describe what I saw is to relate it to a tornado. In the center of the cyclone was Jess, the outer bands were all of us asking a thousand questions, and making every attempt in the situation to complete tasks. It was like she was there, and there was all this stuff flying around her, and she had complete control over every single minute detail. She assigned roles, preplanned upcoming interventions, had meds lined up so there was no wait time and even called for help while all this was going on.
Special Connection:
Jess also offered the family to come to the patient, which was simply heartbreaking, but it was the right thing to do. This event took the better part of an hour, Jess never faltered, stayed true to task, and never lost her cool. Though our best effort was put forward, this beautiful little eight-year-old boy was called home that night. As a final honor of respect, Jess coordinated the doctors to take the boy’s parents back to his room while she had the team make him presentable. Another amazing nurse brought down the boy's own personal blankets to make sure he was wrapped in love. They then brought the boy back to PICU.
Significant Difference:
The level of nursing in the room that night was beyond anything I have ever seen in my more than 15 years as a nurse and in my time as a SWAT nurse. There are no words to describe what Jess Smith brings to the table and the level of cool, competence she exudes. Jess makes nursing look easy, when in fact, that was one of the hardest situations I have ever been involved in. I think sometimes, as night employees, we don’t often get the recognition that day staff get because we aren’t as “seen.” Jess needs to be recognized for the value she brings to this institution. We need to elevate nurses like her and model her high standards. Jess is a true DAISY Nurse.
Note: This is Jess's 2nd DAISY Award!