Sarah Palmer
September 2023
Sarah
Palmer
,
BSN, RN, MEDSURG-BC
Float Pool
Providence Portland Medical Center
Portland
,
OR
United States
Sarah sincerely embraces our Providence mission in her care of our patients with a heart unparalleled to most, one that radiates true compassion and empathy for the people she cares for.
I am nominating Sarah Palmer for two reasons:
First reason: an inspiring and beautiful story between a patient and new nurse.
Second reason: Sarah is one of the most genuine and sweetest souls I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. She consistently goes above and beyond for all and has exceeded so many expectations as a new nurse.
Sarah is a hard worker and epitomizes what it means to be a team player. She is the first to answer call lights, first to stop and help any overwhelmed colleague. In addition to, she is a complete champion when it comes to safeguarding patients' rights who struggle with mental health.
Sarah sincerely embraces our Providence mission in her care of our patients with a heart unparalleled to most, one that radiates true compassion and empathy for the people she cares for. She is exceptionally intelligent and a one of my most cherished preceptors.
It has been an absolute honor watching her blossom into the incredible nurse, leader, and human Sarah is today. I am so proud to be a part of her nursing journey and to see firsthand how much her confidence in herself and as a float pool acute care nurse has grown over the years.
When I decided to nominate Sarah, I rounded on every med/surge unit to elicit feedback about her, and I was so moved and even more dedicated to this nomination than ever because of all the love for her. She immediately recognized by all the nocs caregivers I spoke with (recognition can be a difficult as a float nurse). Every person or person(s) I talked to said the same things:
“She is the sweetest and hardest working nurse” “We LOVE having Sarah on our floor”, “Sarah is the most helpful person and is always positive- even when she is slammed”, “Oh, she is one of our favorites. She is so kind, smart, and she is the sweetest to her patients- she spends so much time explaining medications and processes to her patients. Her patients love her.” “Sarah Palmer has the best attitude of any nurse I know, and she is a fantastic preceptor. She never complains. We would have Sarah every shift if we could.”
Now to the story. Sarah was a brand new RN in our Float Pool Residency program. This excerpt is from an article written about her and her outstanding example of what a loving and compassionate nurse is and should be. “The Soft Side of Nursing Sarah Palmer comes from a family of nurses – mom, aunts, cousins. But Sarah took a roundabout way to get to nursing. Graduating with a degree in history and English, she pursued other work. In 2016 she started thinking about what she valued, what was the best use of her time. She returned to school and graduated with a nursing degree in 2019, becoming the sixth nurse in her family. “My mom thinks a lot about the soft side of nursing, caring for patients with kindness and a sense of humor,” said Sarah. That made an impression. Sarah understands the need for the caring aspect of nursing, in addition to the curing aspect of nursing. She moved to Oregon and started her nursing career in home health care. Sarah then joined Providence Portland in November 2021, becoming a member of the Float Pool team. One recent shift she was floated to 8S, and the soft side of nursing came into focus. J was one of her four patients that night. That wasn’t his real name. No one knew his name. No one knew his medical history. They did know he was houseless, and his friends called 911 when they found him unresponsive. That is how he ended up at Providence Portland, and on 8S under Sarah’s care that night. Sarah’s other three patients were stable through the night, providing her extra time to work with J, including giving him the dignity of a bed bath after so long on the streets. At the beginning of her shift, he could track with his eyes, but otherwise could or would not respond to any other interaction. Sarah talked and cared for him throughout the night, by morning he had progressed to being able to follow commands with hand movements.
The next night Sarah was floated to 8N. She learned J was not doing well, and not expected to live. That surprised Sarah as she had ended her shift the night before with J seeming to do a little better, although still facing many challenges. When Sarah went on break, she asked the 8S charge nurse if she could spend some time with J. The answer was yes. Sarah initially sat in a chair on one side of his bed. After a few minutes she remembered he seemed to have feeling on his other side – that was the hand that had moved the night before. So, she switched sides, kneeling beside the bed as there was no chair. She held his hand, hoping he felt the human touch despite her being double gloved. “I told J I was sorry I didn’t know his real name; I was sorry we couldn’t make him better. I promised him I would remember him, and I hoped he was comfortable.” She wanted J to know, even though so little was known about him, he was not anonymous. She wanted him to know, regardless of how he came to Providence, what his life had been before, he deserved the same care and attention as any other patient.
Sarah eventually ran out of words for J, so reaching back to her English major and love of words, she recited a favorite poem, Wild Geese, by Mary Oliver: “You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about your despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on. Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes, over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains, and the rivers. Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again. Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting –over and over announcing your place in the family of things.”
Sarah ended her visit with J, saying through tears it was an honor to be his nurse. “J made me a better nurse,” said Sarah. “I want to help those who can’t help themselves. Even at the end of very challenging shifts that feel unproductive, if I can point to a moment when I alleviated some suffering, then I am doing the work of a nurse.”
I hope you consider Sarah Palmer as a recipient for the DAISY Award, she reminds me every day why I wanted to be a nurse.
First reason: an inspiring and beautiful story between a patient and new nurse.
Second reason: Sarah is one of the most genuine and sweetest souls I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. She consistently goes above and beyond for all and has exceeded so many expectations as a new nurse.
Sarah is a hard worker and epitomizes what it means to be a team player. She is the first to answer call lights, first to stop and help any overwhelmed colleague. In addition to, she is a complete champion when it comes to safeguarding patients' rights who struggle with mental health.
Sarah sincerely embraces our Providence mission in her care of our patients with a heart unparalleled to most, one that radiates true compassion and empathy for the people she cares for. She is exceptionally intelligent and a one of my most cherished preceptors.
It has been an absolute honor watching her blossom into the incredible nurse, leader, and human Sarah is today. I am so proud to be a part of her nursing journey and to see firsthand how much her confidence in herself and as a float pool acute care nurse has grown over the years.
When I decided to nominate Sarah, I rounded on every med/surge unit to elicit feedback about her, and I was so moved and even more dedicated to this nomination than ever because of all the love for her. She immediately recognized by all the nocs caregivers I spoke with (recognition can be a difficult as a float nurse). Every person or person(s) I talked to said the same things:
“She is the sweetest and hardest working nurse” “We LOVE having Sarah on our floor”, “Sarah is the most helpful person and is always positive- even when she is slammed”, “Oh, she is one of our favorites. She is so kind, smart, and she is the sweetest to her patients- she spends so much time explaining medications and processes to her patients. Her patients love her.” “Sarah Palmer has the best attitude of any nurse I know, and she is a fantastic preceptor. She never complains. We would have Sarah every shift if we could.”
Now to the story. Sarah was a brand new RN in our Float Pool Residency program. This excerpt is from an article written about her and her outstanding example of what a loving and compassionate nurse is and should be. “The Soft Side of Nursing Sarah Palmer comes from a family of nurses – mom, aunts, cousins. But Sarah took a roundabout way to get to nursing. Graduating with a degree in history and English, she pursued other work. In 2016 she started thinking about what she valued, what was the best use of her time. She returned to school and graduated with a nursing degree in 2019, becoming the sixth nurse in her family. “My mom thinks a lot about the soft side of nursing, caring for patients with kindness and a sense of humor,” said Sarah. That made an impression. Sarah understands the need for the caring aspect of nursing, in addition to the curing aspect of nursing. She moved to Oregon and started her nursing career in home health care. Sarah then joined Providence Portland in November 2021, becoming a member of the Float Pool team. One recent shift she was floated to 8S, and the soft side of nursing came into focus. J was one of her four patients that night. That wasn’t his real name. No one knew his name. No one knew his medical history. They did know he was houseless, and his friends called 911 when they found him unresponsive. That is how he ended up at Providence Portland, and on 8S under Sarah’s care that night. Sarah’s other three patients were stable through the night, providing her extra time to work with J, including giving him the dignity of a bed bath after so long on the streets. At the beginning of her shift, he could track with his eyes, but otherwise could or would not respond to any other interaction. Sarah talked and cared for him throughout the night, by morning he had progressed to being able to follow commands with hand movements.
The next night Sarah was floated to 8N. She learned J was not doing well, and not expected to live. That surprised Sarah as she had ended her shift the night before with J seeming to do a little better, although still facing many challenges. When Sarah went on break, she asked the 8S charge nurse if she could spend some time with J. The answer was yes. Sarah initially sat in a chair on one side of his bed. After a few minutes she remembered he seemed to have feeling on his other side – that was the hand that had moved the night before. So, she switched sides, kneeling beside the bed as there was no chair. She held his hand, hoping he felt the human touch despite her being double gloved. “I told J I was sorry I didn’t know his real name; I was sorry we couldn’t make him better. I promised him I would remember him, and I hoped he was comfortable.” She wanted J to know, even though so little was known about him, he was not anonymous. She wanted him to know, regardless of how he came to Providence, what his life had been before, he deserved the same care and attention as any other patient.
Sarah eventually ran out of words for J, so reaching back to her English major and love of words, she recited a favorite poem, Wild Geese, by Mary Oliver: “You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about your despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on. Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes, over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains, and the rivers. Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again. Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting –over and over announcing your place in the family of things.”
Sarah ended her visit with J, saying through tears it was an honor to be his nurse. “J made me a better nurse,” said Sarah. “I want to help those who can’t help themselves. Even at the end of very challenging shifts that feel unproductive, if I can point to a moment when I alleviated some suffering, then I am doing the work of a nurse.”
I hope you consider Sarah Palmer as a recipient for the DAISY Award, she reminds me every day why I wanted to be a nurse.