I nominate Gary Cercenia, RN for the wonderful care of my daughter that he provided. He had to be the most compassionate emergency room nurse we've had. We've been to plenty of ERs, so I recognize a great nurse when I see one.
My daughter is 16 and is deathly afraid of needles. Because of her medical issue that brought us to the ER, she needed a shot to relieve the pain. She broke down in tears. At first Gary thought she was kidding, but then quickly realized that she was very serious and was extremely scared. Gary was able to actually make her laugh and ease her concerns by 100%.
Gary explained everything he was going to do, so she wasn't unpleasantly surprised. He even went so far as to show her the size of the needle so that she could see how tiny it was, but that didn't make any difference to her; it was still a needle. He spoke calmly to her. He asked if she wanted another nurse to come in and hold her hand. She said, no, just my mom and he allowed that.
Gary's bedside manner is exemplary. He talked to her all the way through the process to the point where she didn't even realize he had "stuck" her. She couldn't believe it. She was totally amazed and very thankful to Gary for his kindness, patience and expertise.
Gary continued to check on my daughter often to make sure she was ok and that the meds were working. He made sure we were satisfied with the doctor's explanation and his bedside manner. He went way above and beyond the call of duty. He truly deserves to win the prestigious DAISY Award.