One evening Janet Drummond was working in the post-op area and was scheduled to be the late nurse. We had an infant with complex medical issues as well as being post-op for a very difficult urological surgery. The patient was the first child for the parents and they were extremely stressed and emotional. The child developed post-op bleeding complications. Janet recognized this immediately due to her expertise and arranged for Urology to return to see the patient. The patient had to return to the OR to be corrected.

Janet had to pre-op the patient for a second surgery. The Parents were very distressed. She was able, in the midst of all the preparation, to get the child back for emergency surgery, to calm the parents and help them to process what was going on. She was able to make them comfortable with all that was occurring. She did this with her calm, reassuring, caring attitude that she always maintains.

The patient needed admission to the hospital which required complete coordination on Janet's part. She had to coordinate the family, anesthesia, the surgeon, the admitting service doctor, bed control, and ambulance transport. The patient was transferred without problems. The parents were informed and handled the unexpected surgery and admission very well. It takes a lot of knowledge and caring to be able to help parents at so stressful a time. This is just one example of many that I have had the privilege to witness. My colleague is always a shining example to us all as nurses.