In the heart of Holland Centre, you will find an inspiring and cheerful nurse with a commitment to excellence. This nurse, Valerie, demonstrates leadership through her dedication, willingness, expertise and positive demeanor. Valerie’s leadership qualities, support for the entire team and commitment to all patients make her a true nursing hero.
Valerie has embarked on her nursing journey at the Holland Orthopaedic & Arthritic Centre for 13 (fantastic) years. Throughout her career, she has embraced every opportunity to learn, develop professionally and strive for excellence in her practice. She is an active advocate and proud member of nursing council. Her peers describe her as a team player, advocate, and she is known to go the extra mile for patients to provide them with hope and comfort. Valerie has a depth of knowledge and a compassionate approach to patient care, she makes a lasting impact in the lives of many individuals each day.
Valerie embodies integrity and compassion while inspiring those around her. She often works in the capacity of team leader for 6 and 7 East, guiding the team through challenging situations. She leads by example while maintaining a contagious, positive attitude. Our patient population consists of post-operative and transitional care patients, some of the population include patients who demonstrate high-risk behaviors. During unpredictable situations, she is able to remain calm and composed to efficiently coordinate care, provide comfort and emotional support to families and staff. She has been recognized for her responsiveness and courage in code scenarios, as well as regularly providing support.
Her approach to care is person-centred, respectful and dignified. She is skilled at recognizing the unique needs of patients and creating individualized care plans. It is not uncommon for patients and family members to recognize her hard work and dedication. Mr. C and his wife we’re enthusiastic to share how Valerie has positively influenced their hospital stay in support of her Nursing hero nomination- “I feel she is God sent, I can feel the love in her nursing care. Because of her I don’t feel like I am in a hospital, it feels like I am a part of a family. This is important to me. I include Valerie in my prayers, she provides me comfort because she does not rush and takes time to explain things to me.”
Another example of Valerie’s patient-centred focus: We recently had a patient request for MAID procedure, this was the third time that MAID was performed at our facility since it has been legalized. Immediately recognizing some of the team members feelings and moral/religious objections, Valerie had honorably volunteered to be the primary nurse caring for this patient during the day of the procedure. Valerie had developed a special rapport with the patient and his family, so much so that the patient had even shared with other team members that he was hoping she would be the nurse present to “wish him goodnight.” Valerie participated in many conversations to educate, comfort and validate feelings of staff. Most notably, she wore the most bright yellow sweater the day prior to the MAID procedure. When complimented, she had shared that she wore the sweater to brighten the patient’s day, since yellow was his favourite colour- it reminded him of sunshine and his favourite place, Florida. Valerie also helped orchestrate the collection of staff signatures on a big, bright (you guessed it…) yellow card to give to the patient prior to his
passing.
Valerie continuously shows support and dedication to nursing scholarship and ongoing learning through the mentorship of nursing students, new hires and being an active member of nursing council. She supports best practices and is dedicated to implementing quality improvement initiatives (i.e: calorie counts, early mobility, medpass, skin & wound best practices). She is very supportive of the allied healthcare team through supporting safe discharge needs, and liasing with community healthcare partners when needed.
In every interaction with Valeriya, it is a testament to her professionalism and dedication to the nursing profession. Recognizing her outstanding contributions to the Holland Centre team, we wholeheartedly nominate Valeriya as a Nursing Hero. Her leadership, dedication, supportiveness, expertise and positivity act as an
inspiration to us all.
– Mackenzie Conn, 6/7East APN, Chantal Letang, 6/7East PCM & Patient/family recognition
The most admirable quality of Valerie is that she is always doing more than she is supposed to do. She always goes above and beyond no matter how small or big the task is. For example, she provides showers to patients when they are not scheduled for one or will paint/trim patients nails. She is extremely accommodating when providing care to patients and ensures that their voice is heard. I have witnessed several occasions when she will purchase personal hygiene items if the patient does not have any. These may seem like minor acts to most people, but it makes a world of difference in our patients stay, sense of belonging and overall well-being. She has done many great things for patients and families.
– Ekaterina Zharinova, 6/7East RPN & Pilar Ramirez, 7East PT
Nominated by: Chantal Letang, Mackenzie Conn, Ekaterina Zharinova and Pilar Ramirez