Stephanie arrived for her shift one morning to find that many of the routine and necessary protocols for the patients in her assigned area/POD had not been done during the previous night shift. Patients scheduled for early morning procedures were not properly prepared. Stephanie immediately went into action. She calmly put each patient at ease and their concerns to rest. Stephanie coordinated getting each protocol caught up and each prep done for the scheduled procedures. Though certainly frustrated by having to "play catch up,' to get all of this done, Stephanie never let any of her patients know of the difficulty of this multi-dimensional task. She remained professional in her demeanor and provision of care, paused to listen to each concern expressed, and took appropriate action to implement an action plan that addressed each need and concern.

Stephanie is the epitome of a professional RN. In her professionalism, she also embodies compassionate care by meeting the needs expressed by patients and families, as well as those observed and intuitively detected. Stephanie Avent, RN, is most deserving of recognition of her work and compassionate care.