It came to my attention that last night, as she usually does, Alma took on a recovery for one of our Cath Lab patients. This is part of her role and she is able to work collaboratively and consistently both within the PACU and Cath lab teams to ensure continuity of care for our patients. What sets yesterday evening apart from all the other evenings is what Alma did when no one was watching.
After all was done and the patient was transferred to her room, Alma noted that the patient was hungry and was unable to feed herself. She also noted that the team on the 5th floor was busy and probably would not be able to assist the patient for a while. Alma stayed in the patient's room and fed the patient. This is what sets Alma apart from her colleagues. She consistently goes above and beyond to ensure the needs of the patients are met. She is kind, compassionate, and very concerned not only for the physical needs of our patients but their spiritual needs as well. Alma's shift was done, she could have dropped the patient off and gone home but she didn't. The only reason what she did was known was because her colleagues were concerned for her when they didn't see that she had returned to the unit. When they asked her where she was she simply and humbly stated, "Oh I was just feeding the patient because I knew she was very hungry". Had it not been because her team asked where she was, we would have never known what she did. She showed compassion and mercy for her patient, she represents the true essence of what nursing is about.