Sarah Ware, BSN, RN, PCCN, Clin IV, has been serving with our ministry for 14 years. The last couple of years have been unprecedented for the nursing profession, and she has seen the dedication of her fellow nurses firsthand.
“I’m most proud of the nurses who keep coming back and show up every day for these patients, despite rising demands,” Sarah shares. “The commitment to our patients and to each other is extraordinary. I am honored to be a small part of this profession.”
For Sarah, working with her team to help patients is the most rewarding aspect of being a nurse.
“I love collaborating with the multidisciplinary team,” she says. “From nutrition services to intensivists and family, I always learn something in each conversation. Watching a very sick patient recover because of the care decisions made by a team in which I participate is so incredible to watch.”
She continues, “when a patient walks into the unit a year or more after you watched them fight to stay alive, just to say, ‘thank you,’ it is the best thing ever.”
Sarah’s path to nursing was far from typical.
“Growing up, nursing was never on my radar,” she explains. “In fact, I got my first bachelor’s in psychology and spent the next 12 years working in financial services. After about nine years, I decided I needed to do something else that felt, to me, like it had a more meaningful impact. My grandmother was a nurse, so on a whim I looked into evening nursing programs in the area. Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing offered an evening diploma program. So, at the age of 31, I went back to school! I worked full-time and attended the nursing program in the evenings and on weekends.”
After graduating, Sarah started her nursing career on the busy 24-bed cardiac intermediate telemetry unit at Bon Secours Memorial Regional Medical Center. It was here that she learned the value of teamwork.
“After four years there, I made the leap into critical care by joining the critical care unit (CCU) at St. Mary’s Hospital. This was the scariest, but most rewarding professional decision I have ever made,” Sarah shares. “I loved working so closely with providers and family to treat critically ill cardiac patients.”
Sarah spent nearly a decade in the CCU, first as a bedside nurse and then as the clinical care leader. In that role, she ensured that every patient’s care was based on the most recent evidence-based guidelines, as well as consistent with our ministry’s values and mission.
“Ultimately, my measure of success was the patient’s outcome and the successful prevention of hospital-acquired conditions,” she explains.
Sarah’s dedication led to her being recognized with a patient safety award at St. Mary’s Hospital. She shares what this honor means to her.
“Caring directly for a patient at the bedside, you are constantly making decisions, responding to the patient’s ever-changing condition, updating providers and family. It is a hard job! In my role as the clinical care leader, I was able to focus on the smaller quality measures that can have a huge impact on the patient and partner with the nurse to prevent any adverse events.”
This past March, Sarah started a new position with us as sepsis coordinator. In this role she’ll be able to continue working for the safest possible care at St. Mary’s Hospital.
Thank you for your dedication to keeping patients safe, Sarah!
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