Melissa Fitzpatrick has been dedicated to serving the needs of patients, families and caregivers since she graduated from Gwynedd Mercy College with her Associate’s degree in Nursing in 1977. Her clinical career took place over many decades in the critical care arena and she rose to executive roles over critical care divisions, entire hospitals and major industry organizations. As an entrepreneur, Melissa is also the President and Chief Executive Officer of Fitzpatrick and Associate based in Chapel Hill, NC.
For almost forty years, Melissa Fitzpatrick has lived and breathed the essence of nursing and has worked tirelessly to elevate her beloved profession within the healthcare industry. She is a champion for nurses and for patients and has written extensively on the essence of nursing. Providing competent and compassionate care is at the heart of nursing and nurses work hours on end at great personal and physical sacrifice to make sure that patients are safe and that their needs are met. The knowledge and skills that nurses possess are extraordinary and are put to work 24/7/365. In today’s chaotic and fast paced healthcare delivery system, nurses remain the ONLY professionals who are with patients at every moment. Others are important but episodic visitors to the patient’s care site while nurses are the glue that binds and the thread that links all care providers and keeps them up to date on the patient’s wishes and changes as they occur. The nurse is the ultimate navigator and coordinator of care and the one who knows better than anyone how to get things done when obstacles are placed in the way. Serving as the patient’s advocate and assuring that the patient’s needs are known and met is the essence of nursing.
How lucky are we as nurses to be with those at the most important times of their lives?
