Melissa Duflo | Nurses Week Profile

What are your passions away from work?

“My favorite thing to do is travel to the Caribbean and go Scuba diving with my husband and friends. Additionally, I enjoy escaping the Phoenix heat to Northern Arizona or Colorado to go camping with my family and dogs, Molly and Charlie.” 

What does a day in your life look like at work?

"Depending on the day, I’m either out in the field with patients, or working from home supporting our Chronic Nursing Team in Arizona, training, testing out new technology functionality in user acceptance testing, working on different cross collaborative projects, or supporting nurses nationally on the Nurse Technology Support Channel as a SME.”

What is the best part of your job?

“My ability to be involved in many projects, advocate for advancements in technology that will be beneficial, and still be able to spend time infusing patients. I work with several different amazing teams within the organization and genuinely enjoy and feel fortunate to be able to learn and grow while working on things that I’m passionate about."

How do you incorporate Quality and Patient Safety into your work?

“By being detailed oriented, knowledgeable about policy and procedure, using critical thinking, and staying up to date with the latest changes to practice. Patient safety, at all stages of the process, is truly my number one priority.”

What words would you say to a nurse after a challenging day?

“To remember that you will have good days and unfortunately some bad days, but you must focus on the impact you make in the lives of your patients and their families. You likely went into nursing because you genuinely care and wanted to help others, and although it’s not always the easiest path, you matter, and you make a difference.”