December 2016
Sania
Oleary
,
BSN, RN
Surgical Nursing
Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital
Boston
,
MA
United States
Sania O'Leary was nominated by a patient who describes her "sunshine." The patient praised Sania for always smiling and being ready to give encouragement. During his stay, the patient and his wife both felt a strong bond with Sania. When he was almost ready to go home, he faced a scary situation and it was his nurse who got him through the ordeal. He wrote in his nomination, "The day before my release, my wife noticed a difference in my demeanor and called Sania. Because Sania had spent enough time getting to know me earlier, she too recognized that something was not right when I did not respond appropriately to a few questions. A professional nurse, she then followed protocol and invited others to observe which led to appropriately requesting a Rapid Response. Though I was quite surprised to get so much attention so quickly, I too knew something wasn't right and was very appreciative that Sania had taken control of the situation." Luckily, the patient recovered and was able to go home, although he was nervous after his ordeal. Sania's kind and encouraging words helped to put his fears to rest.