I nominate Rachel Arnold, who works as a Staff RN on 4NW Palliative Care on NOCS shift. It takes a special kind of person to work in the kind of situations that these nurses encounter on a daily basis. Rachel’s compassion and professionalism is what makes her a role model. For months now I have had the pleasure of working along side her, seeing first hand how many of her fellow co-workers look to her for advice and assistance. She is always ready and willing to assist anyone who needs her, and even with a full patient load doesn’t stop unless she knows that everyone is ok. I have worked in almost every unit of the hospital now and out of all the nurses I have worked with thus far, Rachel is the most polite, respectful and thankful nurse that I have worked with; thanks her techs and the communicator for everything we do which means more than you know!

Rachel works on a Palliative Care unit that also deals with sickle cell and hem/onc patients; this means that we deal with a lot of patient’s families that have recently lost loved ones or who are very ill and painful. With her calming presence, her way of handling patient’s families and her overall empathy, Rachel would be the kind of nurse that I would request to have take care of my loved one, heaven forbid they ever need to be admitted here.

I believe it is the individual that goes above and beyond their job on a daily basis, someone that truly enjoys what they do, someone that is not only a wonderful educator but who also frequently asks questions of other staff so that she can continue to better herself, someone that is respectful, helps out her fellow co-workers when in need, someone that gives outstanding patient care and someone that could make an impact in her patient’s life during a single shift. With all of these above listed qualities, this is why she is no ordinary nurse. She, like many other extraordinary male and female nurses, deserves to be recognized for the work they do.