#257 - C, RN

This post is about a nurse who represents a lot of good nurses working in the medical field.  I first met her years ago when we both did home health visits.  I had little contact with her at that time, pretty much just to say hello as she was going in and I was going out of a patients home.  Many years later, she showed up at my grandparent's house.  She had taken a job working for a hospice company.  She was kind, caring, and empathetic in the most stressful of circumstances.  Due to the nature of the hospice business, most of the interactions between caregivers and staff are filled with lots of emotions.  Loved ones are close to dying and their families are looking for assurance that they have done everything possible for them.  #257 did all this and more.  She patiently explained policies and procedures, she answered all of our questions, and most importantly she took the time to talk and provide comfort through her presence.  She used her job knowledge and her compassion to make an extremely difficult time a little easier.  I will always be grateful for her dedication.  The best thing about her is that it was not just a job for her, but an act of love.  She allowed the families that she helped to lean on her in their time of need.  A true gift and act of giving.  I still see her from time to time, oddly enough in church usually.  She always asks about my family and has a kind word to say about the time that she spent working with us.  I hope that I always exhibit the same patience and ability to comfort, sometimes just by listening, to the patients that I work with.