Amy Colombo
July 2020
Amy
Colombo
,
RN
Walk-In Clinic - Stanwood
The Everett Clinic
Everett
,
WA
United States
Amy has the inherent ability to be both nice and supportive plus get the job done. For example, she helped me with a patient with high-risk croup and nebulized epinephrine at a time when we had to mix it ourselves. This was happening at the end of clinic hours (when else?). She was able to help the patient and the patient's mother remain calm throughout the experience.
Recently she was recognized for seeing a patient with nausea who appeared to be in shock. Amy correctly thought there was more going on and it turns out the patient was actually having a myocardial infarction rather than the acute gastroenteritis she was thought to have. I think Amy has great skills and great instincts.
***
I have worked many shifts with Amy over the years. She does have a good sense of flow with such a variety of ages, injuries, cardiovascular events, and medical issues coming through the door. The day always feels like it is fun, and that it is moving along in a positive way. She knows many of our patients by name and will often give a heads up related to patient situations, or stress levels, or personality, which helps any clinician to make a better connection with the patient.
Because we have a large geriatric population in our area, we do get a fair share of high acuity situations and unstable patients walking through the door. This week was a good example of that. We had a patient present with severe back pain, and he was starting to pass out in the waiting room as he checked in.
Amy somehow was at his side within seconds and caught him in a wheelchair as he went down (with the help of someone she was training that day), and after calling for help wheeled him to the procedure room where we were able to get him onto the gurney and where he remained conscious. 911 was promptly called, but the short version is that this patient was hypotensive and had a ruptured AAA (abdominal aortic aneurysm) that was brought to surgery for repair once he got to the ER.
This kind of life-saving emergent action is typical for Amy. She thinks on her feet and has a very good sense of assessing an unstable patient and taking the correct action. I have seen her give similar care to many critical patients over the years: spine injuries, heart attacks, GI bleeds.
In addition to these types of skills, Amy is very attuned to our Staff and Clinicians. She senses if someone she is working with needs some extra assistance, a break, or just is not having their best day. She celebrates the strengths of others and is very caring. She also gives support to others when she sees it is needed. She is very thoughtful and will do little things around the clinic setting to spread cheer, such as a vase of flowers from her garden or a trip to get some coffee. She and her coworkers do very well as a team, and Amy in her actions and reactions supports that teamwork. I have also had experience working with Amy on the EPIC build committee and she has great suggestions for our "to-do list", as well as understanding what is required to keep a team of nurses and MA's supported in the EPIC rooming and documentation process. She always brings good suggestions for what needs to be changed and good solutions for changing it.
I would also like to mention that Amy joins a medical team annually (although canceled this year due to COVID) to bring medical care and relief to impoverished areas of Haiti. She is always enthused about these trips and shares her experiences with others and is very dedicated to this cause.
I hope that my statements here give you some understanding of the extraordinary experiences that I and others have had working with Amy, and why I think she is an excellent choice for the DAISY Award.
In closing, I will mention a comment at a recent department huddle I attended, where one of my physician colleagues described another emergency experience with Amy as an example of "legendary" patient care. I would have to agree that Amy is the kind of nurse who is able to create a legendary experience for patients on a regular basis, just by being who she is, and I am happy I have had occasional opportunity to work with her.
Recently she was recognized for seeing a patient with nausea who appeared to be in shock. Amy correctly thought there was more going on and it turns out the patient was actually having a myocardial infarction rather than the acute gastroenteritis she was thought to have. I think Amy has great skills and great instincts.
***
I have worked many shifts with Amy over the years. She does have a good sense of flow with such a variety of ages, injuries, cardiovascular events, and medical issues coming through the door. The day always feels like it is fun, and that it is moving along in a positive way. She knows many of our patients by name and will often give a heads up related to patient situations, or stress levels, or personality, which helps any clinician to make a better connection with the patient.
Because we have a large geriatric population in our area, we do get a fair share of high acuity situations and unstable patients walking through the door. This week was a good example of that. We had a patient present with severe back pain, and he was starting to pass out in the waiting room as he checked in.
Amy somehow was at his side within seconds and caught him in a wheelchair as he went down (with the help of someone she was training that day), and after calling for help wheeled him to the procedure room where we were able to get him onto the gurney and where he remained conscious. 911 was promptly called, but the short version is that this patient was hypotensive and had a ruptured AAA (abdominal aortic aneurysm) that was brought to surgery for repair once he got to the ER.
This kind of life-saving emergent action is typical for Amy. She thinks on her feet and has a very good sense of assessing an unstable patient and taking the correct action. I have seen her give similar care to many critical patients over the years: spine injuries, heart attacks, GI bleeds.
In addition to these types of skills, Amy is very attuned to our Staff and Clinicians. She senses if someone she is working with needs some extra assistance, a break, or just is not having their best day. She celebrates the strengths of others and is very caring. She also gives support to others when she sees it is needed. She is very thoughtful and will do little things around the clinic setting to spread cheer, such as a vase of flowers from her garden or a trip to get some coffee. She and her coworkers do very well as a team, and Amy in her actions and reactions supports that teamwork. I have also had experience working with Amy on the EPIC build committee and she has great suggestions for our "to-do list", as well as understanding what is required to keep a team of nurses and MA's supported in the EPIC rooming and documentation process. She always brings good suggestions for what needs to be changed and good solutions for changing it.
I would also like to mention that Amy joins a medical team annually (although canceled this year due to COVID) to bring medical care and relief to impoverished areas of Haiti. She is always enthused about these trips and shares her experiences with others and is very dedicated to this cause.
I hope that my statements here give you some understanding of the extraordinary experiences that I and others have had working with Amy, and why I think she is an excellent choice for the DAISY Award.
In closing, I will mention a comment at a recent department huddle I attended, where one of my physician colleagues described another emergency experience with Amy as an example of "legendary" patient care. I would have to agree that Amy is the kind of nurse who is able to create a legendary experience for patients on a regular basis, just by being who she is, and I am happy I have had occasional opportunity to work with her.