Peak Performer: Aly Anthony, RN

When Aly received the responsibility of team nurse in the Hematology and Oncology department, she’d never worked in this capacity. However, in a very short period of time, she not only learned the integral components of this role but was enthusiastic to expand, learn and grow further so that on top of learning about the intricacies involving the management of complicated cancer patients, she was able to dedicate herself to help build programs for her patients. Before long, the families came to depend on her and so did providers. Additionally, she was a regular attendee at team meetings making valuable contributions as well as at multidisciplinary meetings involving individualized Medicine and the histiocytic disorder program. This made a tremendous impact on patients with rare conditions.

Aly also went above and beyond to arrange care to be delivered at home for a patient with a terminal illness, given that the family was unable to continue care in the hospital due to social constraints. She has taken an active role in helping launch a specific type of clinic for patients with oncologic diagnoses. To this effect, she has been working tirelessly to ensure that patients and families receive written educational material about their condition and treatment recommendations. In addition, she continues to function as a very effective coordinator to ensure the smooth functioning of this clinic.

Another noteworthy point is that when Aly joined the team, many of the senior nurses had assumed other positions leaving a large clinical vacuum. This did not deter her from accepting her role. In fact, with her calm demeanor, she contributed significantly to rapidly bringing back a patient-centric approach, which is the essence of nursing in general and particularly at Cook Children's.