Despite his initial skepticism about emergency departments, Peter says he was taken aback by the efficiency and warmth of the team at NYGH. By 7 AM, the morning shift was just beginning, and the waiting room was quiet but tense. That’s when Nurse Allison made her way through the room, checking on patients, taking vitals, and offering words of comfort.
“She was like a ray of warm sunshine in that room,” he says. “You could see how easily she was building rapport with everyone around her, even at that early hour.”
A Teachable Moment
When it was Peter’s turn for vitals, Allison commented on how perfect his blood pressure was. “I wish I had a nursing student here with me to see this,” she said with a smile. That comment resonated with Peter, who as a nurse educator himself, understood the importance of giving students those special learning moments.
Peter recalls that his journey that followed through the emergency department was remarkably smooth, and within a few hours, he was scheduled for surgery. But what stood out most to him wasn’t just the speed or efficiency of the care at NYGH — it was the human connection he experienced during those tense moments.
“That same nurse I’d met in the waiting room came to check on me multiple times, even though the department was getting busier by the minute,” he recalls.
