I wish to nominate an extraordinary nurse who assisted a stroke victim and his family while hospitalized. The stroke victim had swallowed his partial plate during the night, but x-rays taken during the night did not prominently show the teeth. Nobody seemed to believe this could have happened even after a mad search for the teeth in the two rooms he had been assigned.

Will Fizer came on duty early in the morning and had already become aware of the situation. He matter of factly said to the patient that the teeth would be found somehow. I believe he checked the X-rays himself and saw what he thought was the teeth lodged in his throat. The patient's doctor (intern) came to check and said he positively could not have swallowed them even though he was speaking "like a frog". Will persisted and got the hospitalist involved who agreed with the nurse. The patient's breathing was labored by this point, and he was scheduled for a procedure to remove the teeth. The teeth were removed, but he did stop breathing and required CPR in the process. Had the nurse followed the doctor's direction, the patient would have either suffocated or eaten and likely died as a result.

In addition to this advocacy for his patient, Will continued to check on this patient even though he was not returned to his floor immediately. He further assisted the family with questions about how rehab services work and even escorted the family to the rehab floor so they could ask questions and see the facility there. His skill and decision making capacity and his interpersonal skills and professionalism allowed the patient and the family to transition to rehab from a very serious health emergency.

It took a lot of leadership on his part to stand for what he knew was right against a doctor's opinion. Those who serve do well to listen to their patients and the patient's family to get a whole view of the situation, and this is exactly what Will Fizer did.