Beth Dziczkowski, Northside Hospital Cherokee

Critical care nurse Beth Dziczkowski is the colleague everyone wants to work beside in the intensive care unit at Northside Hospital Cherokee.

She picks up extra shifts to help out, buys breakfast and lunch for everyone when it’s busy, and takes on lots of little, selfless projects without compensation.

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“She is an extraordinary person and nurse. She is a highly skilled, extremely knowledgeable, compassionate team player who consistently picks up extra shifts to help the unit,” said co-worker Coley King, who nominated Dziczkowski for an Atlanta Journal-Constitution Excellence in Nursing Award. King is a critical care nurse for the rapid response unit at Northside Cherokee.

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Dziczkowski is a preceptor for new nurses in the intensive care unit at Northside Hospital Cherokee. She also fills in for charge nurses and rapid response units.

What sets Dziczkowski apart is that she is a strong advocate for her patients and works well with all disciplines to provide sensational patient care, according to her co-workers.

She is continually advancing her knowledge and displays strong leadership skills, King said.

“Beth never backs down from a challenging assignment and works efficiently to provide the best care possible,” she wrote in her nomination letter.

Even with all the challenges of COVID-19, Dziczkowski’s work ethic has remained strong and positive, King said.

Recently, when a co-worker had to leave immediately, Dziczkowski stepped right in to help, taking on an additional patient with cardiac arrest who needed much care.

“It was eight o’clock in the morning, and she already had two other ICU patients. She didn’t hesitate to jump in and volunteer to take the patient,” King said. “Her selflessness kept her co-workers from having to rearrange all of their assignments.”

Dziczkowski takes on several projects for her unit, such as putting all the employees’ names on Christmas stockings.

“To date, she’s probably completed over 130 stockings without any compensation,” King said. “It’s a privilege to work with such a wonderful person.”

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