When Lucy is charging, she always does an amazing job of making sure all her patients and staff members are taken care of. Recently, we had a psychotic patient who was having a difficult time self-regulating to the point where he would get agitated towards their 1:1 staff members. This specific night, the patient wanted a certain type of hairstyle that the staff members on shift had never done before. The patient was getting escalated due to wanting his hair to look perfect and not getting the desired outcome from the people who had already tried to do his hair earlier that night.

Lucy took it upon herself to de-escalate the patient by telling him she would do the hairstyle. Before trying to do his hair, Lucy looked up pictures and step-by-step videos to learn how to do this hairstyle in the best way possible for him. She then sat outside in the dayroom for more than 3 hours working on his hair while he made sure every section was to his liking. Not once did she get frustrated with the situation, and she took the time to talk to him during the whole process. This patient had the potential to escalate (as he had done various days earlier) quickly, but with her patience and kindness, he sat still and engaged with her the entire time.

This interaction with said patient and Lucy, our charge nurse, highlighted what it's like to be a nurse who goes above and beyond her duty expectations to provide compassionate and well-rounded care. Nurses like her make our kids feel heard, safe, and genuinely cared for. The patient demonstrated his appreciation by looking at himself in the mirror with a bright smile. You could see the confidence instilled in him when his face lit up. He then hugged and thanked Lucy and went to bed. We are very thankful and appreciative to have Lucy working with us in our unit, and I'm positive any patient who interacts with Lucy is too.