‘She just went above and beyond’: Nurse honored as Downers Grove hospital's top caregiver
Meghan Schick has made a great impact in a short amount of time at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove.
It was proven when Schick, a registered nurse specializing in critical care at “Good Sam” since June 2023, was selected as the hospital’s 2024 Nurse of the Year.
“It’s a pretty challenging job but a very rewarding one at the same time,” said Schick, who came to Advocate Good Samaritan after five years at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. “We kind of help people through their worst days, and it’s a blessing to be able to do that.”
Focusing on caring for patients after open-heart surgery at the only Level 1 trauma center in DuPage County, Schick’s commitment was clear, even in the moments before she was to receive the award.
“I was supposed to get an admission from the ER (emergency room). I was very preoccupied with that,” Schick said.
When she was able to leave her station, she found a gathering of hospital administrators and coworkers assembled to honor her as Nurse of the Year.
“It really was a humongous surprise,” said Schick, a Brookfield resident who grew up in Hinsdale and played on Hinsdale Central High School’s 2013 Class 3A state runner-up girls soccer team.
“I had nominated a coworker for the award, who I work with closely, and I really hoped that she would win,” she said.
Schick’s role as a mentor was a key reason for her winning the award. Two nurses she trained to work in critical care wrote and submitted a nomination for her.
“Her nomination was, I want to say, four pages long, and it truly was a tearjerker. It was just such a wonderful nomination,” said Roseanne Niese, Good Samaritan’s chief nursing officer.
“You know, nursing isn’t easy,” Niese said. “But Meghan makes it look easy. She really, really can handle a lot of these difficult moments.”
Schick illustrated that during a recent case involving a critically ill patient with a cervical spine tumor.
Despite language barriers, Schick used translators to communicate with the family and coordinated support from multiple teams at the hospital to keep them informed and involved.
She stayed with the family after the end of her shift to provide comfort and help them with a difficult end-of-life decision.
“She just went above and beyond to provide such compassionate care to this family, and she does that all the time," Niese said. "That’s kind of her M.O. She’s one of those folks who just really believes in the holistic care of patients."
Schick said her work in critical care makes her value her own health and the time that she is able to spend with her family.
“You grow close to patients and feel really empathetic toward them and what they’re going through with their family members,” Schick said. “It’s a really challenging job. There are difficulties. But it’s also very rewarding and very humbling to be able to do the job.”