I discovered that Nicole had gone over and beyond one weekend day when we worked together. Nicole had a male patient who was homeless and was not wearing shoes when he was admitted to our unit from the ER. This man's feet were in bad shape. His feet were extremely dirty, and malodourous. In fact, his feet could be smelled out in the hall.
Nicole spent a lot of her day caring for this man's feet. Nicole was the first person who spent time washing and really listened to what was going on in the man's life outside of the hospital. Nicole then placed an order on Amazon to buy the man shoes to be delivered to our unit the same day, so as not to have to leave the floor and her patient to go down to the lobby and retrieve them.
What makes this nomination so special is that Nicole did not share what she had done with anyone. I only discovered it by "mistake". I was the charge nurse on this particular day and while checking with the nurses to see who needed help, Nicole seemed a little flustered. At that time, she told me what she had done for this patient and was concerned because the shoes had not been delivered.
I think there are a few people who do not seek out approval for doing something for others. Nicole is one of those people. She chose to use her own resources, money and time to show a homeless man compassion. The shoes finally came, and Nicole gave them to her patient. When her patient was discharged, he left wearing the shoes Nicole bought for him.