Being a team player means always being willing to help and being able to effectively do whatever job needs to get done, regardless of who is responsible for it while also being able to delegate tasks. At my current job as the only nurse at an ambulatory practice, there are many ways I show that I am a team player. I work alongside 8 providers, and 13 medical assistants. As the only nurse for the last 2 years, I have been stretched thin at many times due to the workload and lack of direct support from not having another nurse on site. Although this can be very difficult at times, I love being able to do my job and help all of my colleagues. I pride myself on always being willing to accept something onto my plate. If my coworker has a situation they don’t know how to handle effectively, they know they can ask me for help and I will tell them to “send it right over”. In other words, give me whatever the problem is and I will figure it out. There are times my coworkers are swamped with their workload, and if I can help I will. Seeing a need, and being able to fill it without being asked is vital to the workflow. Part of being a reliable teammate is knowing when to step in, and being able to do so with compassion and efficiency. As a current LPN, I am in school to get my RN degree. I am married, helping my husband’s ailing parents, working full time and in school. It can make my day to day very busy and difficult to relax when I have so much to do. Despite all of my responsibilities, I make time to support those around me as much as I can. I have started initiatives at my job that support the work others do, to make all of our jobs easier. One such initiative is a rotating schedule that keeps track of which rooms have been recently inventoried for expired/damaged products. Previously, we had one employee who stepped up to single-handedly check every room for these items. In an effort to minimize her workload and make it a shared responsibility, I suggested to our manager to instill a new system where everyone who is working the rotating Saturday shift (which is a slower workday) would be in charge of checking 2-3 rooms a week. This lightens the workload for the employee shouldering the responsibility, and allows everyone to pitch in as a team. Working well together is a beautiful and important part of a medical practice. It reflects in the way we do our job, and the patients definitely notice a difference. I love finding new ways to create unity within our practice, and show my team that I am working alongside them 100%. In the ways listed above, I aim to be like Rob Navarra who I’m sure would have been an amazing nurse.