The nursing preceptor program at NHRMC helps instill confidence in new nurses by pairing them with a more experienced nurse who is an expert in patient care and is also schooled in NHRMC standards and practices.
Our February Employee of Excellence is a nurse who is committed to her patients, her profession, her hospital, and to the future nurses of NHRMC. Congratulations to Mary Hamrick, staff nurse on the Cardiac Telemetry Unit!
Mary is known for her ability to form a bond with her patients in a short period of time. Her dedicated attention makes them feel understood and valued. Sometimes she even plays their favorite songs, and the patients remember her attention to detail. Some of her patients have even been known to tell her “I love you,” as they leave her care.
Recently, one patient had a rough shift and the family was worried. After working her 12-hour shift, Mary took time to sit with the patient and family for another 30 minutes talking and laughing about life. The family didn’t know that in addition to working third shift, Mary is going to Family Nurse Practitioner school and has clinicals during the week. Her time is valuable, so being at the hospital another 30 minutes after working 12 hours is the epitome of self-sacrifice.
It’s no wonder that Mary is such a valued preceptor. Every time she imparts a fraction of her professionalism, knowledge and compassion to a new nurse, NHRMC becomes a better place to receive care.
During one of her stints as a preceptor, Mary worked with an orientee who spoke English as a second language and had gone to nursing school in his home country. Everything was new to him. She guided him through orientation with exceptional patience and poise. She taught him not only how to be a nurse at NHRMC, but also our idiosyncrasies in practice, difference in language, medical terminology, metric vs. imperial measurements and other cultural differences he needed to know while working with our patients. She made him feel comfortable asking questions, and he is now one of the most skilled nurses on the unit.
One co-worker said of Mary, “She was my preceptor when I was a new grad and she is everything I want to be as a nurse. She is an absolute credit to her profession and is loved by all her co-workers and her patients.”
For serving our patients with grace and respect and for teaching our next generation of nurses to do the same, Mary Hamrick deserves the title of NHRMC Employee of Excellence.