The ED was extremely busy on the day I visited. As a nurse myself, if we ever need a nurse, you always hope that you get a nurse that you can trust, the one that stands out, and the one that genuinely cares. I found this in the nurse I had, Dominique J. I never tell another nurse that I am a nurse unless I have to, and I did not have to with her.

She was attentive and caring, but what stood out was when she was about to start my IV. Another patient was screaming nonstop, so she politely excused herself to check that the patient was ok. When she came back, she apologized for leaving. This, to me, exemplifies what a great nurse is. Her head was on a swivel the whole time I was in the hallway. Monitors beeping in the nurse's station, she went up multiple times to check.

It’s always the big things that people think matter most, but those are the obvious things we do as nurses. But taking the time to make the little things shine is a special kind of nurse!