When a patient’s story sticks with you: Josh Bern describes his experience

Sep 16, 2022

Josh Bern wins Daisy Award — Congratulations to our April DAISY Award winner, Josh Bern, BSN, RN, Staff Nurse, Surgical and Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit (SNICU). He was nominated by a patient's mother.

Connecting with patients is one of the qualities that often stand out in exceptional nurses. Every so often, those connections form in the most memorable of ways.

Josh Bern, BSN, RN, a staff nurse in the Surgical and Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit (SNICU) at UI Hospitals & Clinics, remembers a particularly difficult case last year.

Bern’s patient had suffered a traumatic brain injury but was being kept on life support. For four long days and nights, Bern took it upon himself to support the family’s every need. As the patient’s mother tells it, he far exceeded that measure.

“Our son wanted to be an organ donor. What compassion this showed. The day of his donation surgery, Josh informed us he got another staff nurse to cover his shift so he could be by my son’s side during the surgery,” she says. “I can’t begin to explain the comfort our family had knowing Josh would be with him as our son gave his gift of life to others.”

Months later, Bern still speaks emotionally about the experience.

“I formed a connection with this family, and I knew I had to follow them through this journey,” Bern says.

Going the distance

Bern has worked in the SNICU since graduating from the UI College of Nursing four years ago.

“What motivates me is that when you’re involved with treating patients with life-threatening injuries and illness, you also start to realize that you have a part to play in helping these patients and their families recover from a very challenging time,” he says.

Bern initially was drawn to the SNICU after learning of the opportunities it would provide. He knew it was a unit where he could grow both personally and professionally.

“The SNICU kind of became my home,” he says. “You take care of not only neurology patients but also traumas and transplants. It allows me to see something different every day. Every day is a learning experience.”

A valuable perspective

From the toughest days to the most routine, Bern is supported by his colleagues.

“You become very attached to your team. You realize you’re all there for the same goals and you all have the same mentality,” he says. “We carry each other’s weight; you’re never carrying it alone.”

In the past four years, Bern has developed a greater appreciation for the many gifts in his own life.

“You get to see firsthand that your actions can sometimes make the experience of a patient and their family a little easier. I think we better ourselves by bettering those around us.”

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When a patient’s story sticks with you: Josh Bern describes his experience

Going the distance

A valuable perspective

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When a patient’s story sticks with you: Josh Bern describes his experience

Going the distance

A valuable perspective

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