A simple gesture: Nurse’s compassion turns Emergency Department visit into a special memory for patient and their spouse
Grace Williams, RN, BSN, PCCN, turned a difficult hospital stay into a memorable one for a patient and their spouse.
Walking into her patient’s room in the Emergency Department (ED), Grace Williams, RN, BSN, PCCN, quickly realized the visit was going to be about more than managing back pain. The patient, visibly frustrated and in pain, explained that they and their spouse had made plans to celebrate their anniversary, but not in the hospital. Seeing their disappointment, Williams felt compelled to do something special.
With empathy at the core of her care philosophy, Williams not only worked to help treat the patient’s pain but went a step further. She arranged for flowers and an anniversary card for the couple, signed by the rest of the ED team, to brighten up their day.
For Williams, caring for this patient meant going beyond treating symptoms. It was about building trust, easing the patient and his wife’s emotional burden of being in the hospital, and showing them that they were seen and heard beyond his medical needs.
“As nurses, we spend a lot of time with our patients and get to know them personally beyond what brings them to the hospital,” she explains. “I think about how I would want myself or my loved ones to be treated in that situation.”
The patient’s experience with Williams left such an impact that he later nominated her for a DAISY Award, writing, “While in some of the worst back pain of my life, the one bright spot in my care experience was Grace Williams. Her kindness, softness, and relatability are unmatched. It’s clear that this is who she really is—a compassionate nurse who makes a real difference for people going through tough times.”
Creating connections through care
Making real connections with her patients is important to Williams. “I like forming genuine connections and feeling I’ve made a difference. If I treated everyone like a checkbox rather than viewing them as a person individually and thinking about them holistically, I’d never have the ability to earn their trust. And trust is critical between a patient and their care team.”
Gestures like the flowers and card come as second nature to Williams. She explains, “When someone is in pain or facing a hospital stay, it’s often the accumulation of little things that can make a bad situation unbearable. If I can be the one to ease some of that burden, to make them feel heard, then I’ve done my job.”
William’s journey into nursing began with a personal turning point. After the premature birth of her fourth child at just 26 weeks, she experienced firsthand the profound impact health care workers can have. That experience lit a fire within her, driving her to earn her nursing degree and pursue a career where she could make a difference every day.
Now, as she prepares to become an Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, she continues to approach each patient with the same mindset: show empathy, create connections, and treat not just the illness, but the person as a whole.
