Clinical Skills:
Sarah Garcia has an innate gift in leading her patients through the labor process. There is something special that is present in her care and touch. I am a labor and delivery nurse, but I came in as a patient. My entire experience with the staff was superb, but Sarah's care was exemplary. My labor included some complications. Having had prior deliveries, I figured I would not be able to tolerate the pain of labor and would quickly get an epidural. Sarah stayed by my bedside and guided me through each contraction once they became painful. Specifically, she was able to see where my body held tension and would gently touch each spot and would guide me through melting away the tension. The pain was tolerable far beyond when I normally would have called it quits.
She helped me to breathe and diminished the fear that pain triggers. I felt like she was able to bring me into an almost hypnotic state. She helped build my confidence in my abilities and was so strong and gentle in her delivery. I have seen a lot of nurses at the bedside during deliveries. She is hands down the best nurse I have ever learned from. I could take so much from how she guided me and implement it into my practice at the bedside. She was also able to identify when I began to develop an infection before I met the criteria for treatment, which helped the team to treat as soon as the criteria were met. She noticed I was not advancing appropriately and was able to quickly implement interventions to help with cervical change (and her interventions worked).

Compassionate Care:
Sarah rarely left my bedside throughout the entire shift. She was completely invested in my care and creating the atmosphere and experience I hoped for. Even though I am a colleague, she spoke to me as a patient and explained everything in detail. The actual delivery occurred at change of shift. It was a traumatic birth. My son ended up having to have hypothermic cooling due to hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy. Sarah stayed over for four hours and checked in on me repeatedly. She also checked in each night and said that she worked throughout my extended stay. She spent time at my bedside and allowed me to process the trauma. As coworkers, she continued to reach out and check in on me and my baby throughout my family leave. She gave me so much support and comfort. We worked opposite shifts, had never worked together, and did not know each other prior to this experience. She is such a special nurse.

Exemplary Service:
Many nurses have told me that Sarah treats her patients this way. She is a labor whisperer.

Continued Commitment:
Sarah precepts new nurses and had a new nurse resident with her throughout my delivery. She is an excellent teacher. It is natural for her. I cannot imagine someone better to be molding our new nurses. She is such a gift.