There have been numerous times where Marsha has gone above and beyond to help out fellow colleagues and most importantly our patients. She remains to be someone who I aspire to be as a nurse, for her work ethic, compassion, service, partnership, flexibility, and for being a leader. On the nights I know I'll be working with Marsha Kwon, I immediately feel a sense of relief, because I know I'll have someone who will support me and will be there with me, side by side in case of an emergency. She always consults us before making decision and foster accountability with everyone to deliver the best outcomes for our patients and families. She goes above and beyond to ask the family what they need and educate them extensively to eliminate their anxiety.
One incidence I can recall occurred at the end of our shift when a newborn needed our help. I walked into my patient's room and recognized that the baby had a less than desirable skin color. I immediately checked for the oxygen saturation, and to no surprise, it was below than normal. Before I could activate the emergency light, Marsha, as charge nurse, and another staff member were there in the room to lend a helping hand. After notifying the doctor of the situation, we reassured the parents that we would do all that we can to stabilize the infant in the procedure room to meet the provider as ordered. We encouraged the parents to follow and observe as they wish, which they did. Both parents of the newborn are RN's in KPWH and they were very gracious to allow us to do our job without interference. After attempting to stabilize the infant on the unit, it was decided by the provider that the newborn be transferred to the NICU. During this whole time, my Charge Nurse never left my side and worked very hard to make sure that the baby was ok and kept reassuring the parents that we were doing everything that we could for the baby.
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Marsha always makes sure that roles and goals are communicated and understood. She promotes quality, teamwork, and service through modeling of the behaviors. She questions change when appropriate yet she offers suggestions for getting work done. She offers some innovation in terms of our staffing to maximize our resources appropriately within the boundary of safe practice. She's not afraid to question, yet she introduced new ideas and methods to get our system flaws better.
There was cord prolapse in our unit, the mother stood up and the cord just literally fell out. Marsha was able to step in and immediately worked her way to transfer the patient in Labor and Delivery. She was literally out of breath but was able to save the baby. We later received a letter of recognition from the parents thanking us for all that we had done for their baby and for acting with urgency and great competence as a team. I could not have been more grateful to have our fearless leader that morning to guide us through each and every procedure with confidence. I'm so glad to have Marsha Kwon as a part of our team.