Life Changing Is … Providing Compassionate Care

Lexi R., RN – Medical-Surgical Nurse

“I love patient care. I love the whole experience.”

As part of Lexi’s kindergarten graduation, her class dressed as what they wanted to be when they grew up.

Lexi went as a doctor — “so I knew I wanted to be in the medical profession,” she says.

She went on to become a nurse instead of a doctor and she says she made the right choice.

“I’m so passionate about nursing now that I am in it,” she says. “I’ve been in it now for two years, and I would not do anything else. I love patient care. I love the whole experience.”

Lexi works on the medical-surgical floor at UPMC Hanover, taking care of patients who are recovering from or preparing for surgery as well as patients who are being treated for orthopaedic conditions and injuries.

In addition to caring for patients, Lexi works as the charge nurse some days, overseeing the entire 26-bed unit. Other days, she works as a nurse preceptor, supervising new nurses on their floor rotations.

She spends as much time as she can getting to know her patients and their families. She believes it makes their stay in the hospital easier.

“For me, it’s just really getting to know my patients and really understanding them and knowing, when they’re in pain, how I can help them,” she says. “It’s about just being there for the patients and advocating for them.”

Building a strong relationship with patients is important in both good and bad times, Lexi believes. She remembers one patient from in-hospital hospice who asked her to be there at the time of her death. Lexi agreed, staying beyond her shift to be with the patient and her family when she died.

“I've always been a nurturing person, and I've always put others’ needs before my own,” she says. “That's how I’ve always been. My mom was a single mom when I was growing up, so I kind of have her as my role model.”

At UPMC, Life Changing Medicine means being there for others.

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