Cameos of Caring - May 2017

Nevia “Via” Lennon, RN, RN-BC,
Clinical Nurse, Heart And Vascular Unit 1, Good Samaritan Hospital (closed in 2018)

I nominate Via for the Cameo of Caring award. Via can build relationships with her patients so that they trust that they are being well taken care of. Via had a patient who wasn’t feeling well. The patient was a Steelers fan. Via is a Bengals fan. They were playing each other that weekend. Via made the patient a sign for both teams and hung it in her room. The patient told the team leader how this act of kindness and humor made her day. The patient said she was her angel. Via had a lonely patient who wanted someone to hold her hand and sit with her all day and night. Via took the time to talk and hold her hand but she needed to care for her other patients. Via asked her fiancé to go to the store at 11 pm to buy a big teddy bear for this patient. This meant a lot to her. Via is a great resource as well, and is a “go to” person when you have a question. When training new nurses, she takes the time to be sure they understand the bigger picture. Her trainees enjoy learning from her and are better nurses because of her example

Elizabeth “EB” Clark, BSN, RN
Oasis/Outcomes Nurse, Oasis, Fidelity Health Care

EB is always willing to go the extra mile, whether it be with patients, calling the doctor to make recommendations, picking up extra visits, or timely case load reviews. If she has questions, she doesn’t seem to hesitate. I just need 10 more like her on my team!  She always helps pick up extra work when I ask her. Today she is precepting at the last minute a new LPN due to his preceptor calling off. She goes above and beyond to meet our staffing needs and to help other clinicians. She is so easy to work with. EB is excellent with patient care and it is obvious with her caring attitude and that she goes above and beyond for patients. As I follow her to see families, they have nothing but wonderful things to say about their nurse! She stands out and should be recognized for her outstanding performance. Her patient called in stating she had such great care during her recovery period and stated she was an outstanding nurse!

Kandi Diamond, BSN, RN, CGRN
Clinical Nurse, Ambulatory Surgery Center, Upper Valley Medical Center

Kandi exemplifies the standards and expectations of the nursing profession.  Kandi is the chairperson for shared governance unit council for ambulatory surgery. She is innovative in getting staff to participate in the committee and discussions at the meeting. She is thorough and prepared for the meetings. She updates a large board for shared governance where she posts the latest numbers for quality improvement and patient satisfaction. She supports coworkers with encouragement, praise and with schedule needs or call needs. Ambulatory surgery is lucky to have her. She approaches her day in a kind and considerate manner to all. While working with her during training, she is calm, guiding and extremely helpful.  She identifies strengths and weaknesses from the very beginning.  She encourages learning and builds confidence in the areas one is comfortable with, while patiently guiding through my weaknesses.  She is always willing to help others and does it with a smile. She leads by example and is well liked by everyone on our unit.

Brandon Farler, BSN, RN, CEN, NREMT
Clinical Nurse, Intensive Care Unit, Atrium Medical Center

He strives to make every day a better day. He is exceeding his goals for his career plan. After completing the residency program, he quickly completed his BSN and specialty certifications. He is positive, motivated, and willing to learn. He asks questions and partners with physicians. If he is unsure about disease processes/diagnoses, he researches the topic and writes a paper to share with peers and implements specific plans of care. He is helpful to others and never lets situations that frustrate others bother him. When morale was down and people were talking about burnout, he researched and surveyed why and explored the root cause. He shared the results with management and his peers to bring positive change. Brandon is a strong patient advocate and makes the most of the moments. Brandon talks with patients whether they are responsive or not, while doing the little things that patients appreciate like washing and brushing hair, applying lotion to hands and feet, or brushing teeth. One night, a patient with respiratory distress was admitted. Orders were in place and through frequent assessments, he could see this patient needed more. He collaborated with the team leader to implement measures needed. All during this time, he was very attentive to the patient, calming them, slowing their breathing, and keeping the patient and family informed. Through the RN's persistence, the care this patient needed was not delayed for the day shift and contributed to a quicker recovery. The patient was very grateful for his care and interventions. He is smart, kind, compassionate and caring.

Pamela “Pam” Hoskins, RN
Clinical Nurse, Inpatient Rehab Unit,Miami Valley Hospital

This nurse brings a wealth of experience to her practice and is recognized as a respected and valuable resource. She is constantly going above and beyond to connect with her patients. We had a young patient whose injuries affected her from going to the bathroom the “normal way.” She adjusted her teaching methods to help the patient understand and described things at the patient's level, referencing movies and using common terminology. She expands her knowledge in nursing with an intentional mindset, genuinely looking at how she can adapt her practice and grow within the profession. Recently this nurse was caring for a patient who began to develop complications of a neurologic condition. She was quick to respond and act, delegating to her team and continually remaining attentive to the patient. While these things are the expectations of the nurse, it is how she managed it that shines. She was modeling critical thinking to a relatively new team. She hit some road blocks as the patient's condition was chalked up as “something she's done before.” Her communication was consistent and firm, demonstrating that a nurse should trust that gut feeling. Even after, she sought out additional learning about the condition her patient had and the complications that presented.