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A Calm in the Storm: Kayla Mercer’s Commitment to Expert Care
May 12, 2025
“Kayla’s level-headed leadership is a breath of fresh air in an environment that is always in chaos,” wrote the colleague who nominated Kayla Mercer, RN, PCF 4SB, for recognition during Nursing Week. “She has always been an excellent mentor to many nurses, always trying to empower them, and making them feel welcome. Her attention to detail is unmatchable. Organization is top notch.”
Spend just five minutes talking to Kayla and you’ll understand exactly what her colleague meant.
A Profession Rooted in Purpose
For Kayla, nursing is more than a career—it’s a calling. “Being a nurse means showing up with compassion, confidence, and integrity every single day, no matter what you’re faced with,” she says.
Over more than a decade at the bedside, and now as a Patient Care Facilitator (PCF) on a busy stroke unit, Kayla has remained focused on one thing: making a real difference in people’s lives.
“To be trusted with someone’s care is incredibly humbling. I don’t take that lightly—and I never will.”
The Embodiment of Expert Care
When Kayla reflects on what expert care means, she describes it as a blend of clinical knowledge, emotional intelligence, advocacy, and communication—especially in moments of fear or uncertainty.
“It’s about knowing when to intervene and how to communicate in a way that patients and families can understand,” she explains. “It’s not just vitals and medications. It’s helping people feel safe. That might mean explaining things clearly, dimming the lights for a migraine patient, or just holding someone’s hand when they’re scared.”
Expert care, to Kayla, also includes being proactive, noticing subtle changes, and making patients feel seen. That combination of small, intentional acts is what creates trust and dignity.
A Mentor and Steady Hand
Now in a leadership role, Kayla supports a team of mostly early-career nurses. She remains a visible and active presence on the floor, guiding, teaching, and stepping in when needed.
“The stroke unit has a lot of newer nurses… probably one to three years’ experience,” she explains. “We don’t have a lot of senior nurses, so I feel lucky that I get to be that person for them.”
Whether she’s providing education, encouraging growth, or helping organize care, Kayla sees mentorship as a core responsibility. It’s about setting the tone, building trust, and ensuring nurses feel supported from their first shift forward.
Calm in the Chaos
That same leadership shines in high-pressure situations. Whether it’s a sudden patient deterioration or a spike in admissions, Kayla draws on her frontline experience to guide her team through.
“When the situation is stressful, I always take a minute to ground myself,” she says. “They don’t need someone who’s freaking out. They need someone grounded—someone who can keep them calm, do what needs to be done, and keep everything organized.”
She’s carried that approach through every phase of her career, including during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when she was 36 weeks pregnant and still showing up for patients and colleagues, isolated from her family multiple times.
A Deep Understanding of the Profession
Asked what she wishes more people understood about nursing; Kayla becomes reflective.
“Nursing is more than following doctor’s orders,” she says. “It’s intellectually demanding, emotionally intense, and incredibly high stakes. We carry our patients’ struggles—and their families’ struggles—home with us. We’re not just caregivers. We’re people too.”
Despite those challenges, she says nurses show up. Through loss, exhaustion, harsh words, and long shifts, they show up.
“You might get yelled at for twelve hours straight. You might lose a patient. But you still show up, and you still stay, because someone needs you.”
The Moments That Stay with You
Kayla carries many memories from her years in nursing—some joyful, some heartbreaking. She recalls a young patient with a severe fear of needles. Kayla dimmed the lights, lowered her voice, and talked her through the procedure, inserting the IV without the patient even noticing.
“She cried afterward and told me she felt safer and more comforted in those few minutes than she had in days,” Kayla recalls. “to this day if we run into each other she stops to say thank you. She always remembers me—and I’ll always remember her.”
Another story involves holding the hand of a man with ALS during his final moments, keeping him company until his wife arrived. She later told Kayla: “Thank you for being there for him when I couldn’t.”
“These aren’t dramatic interventions. They’re small moments,” Kayla says. “But they matter. They shape how someone experiences care.”
Looking Ahead
Kayla is proud of the direction the profession is heading—especially in Newfoundland and Labrador. She highlights recent stroke care advancements like 24/7 endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) access, the expansion of preceptorship and collegiate programs, and stronger partnerships across healthcare institutions.
“We’re not just caregivers. We’re educators, advocates, and change-makers. And I’m proud to be part of a system that’s growing and evolving with us.”
“The Work We Do Really Matters”
Being nominated reminded Kayla of the countless quiet moments that define a nursing career—the conversations, the mentorship, the instincts that change care plans and improve outcomes.
“I feel incredibly grateful. This profession has made me who I am,” she says. “To be recognized by someone who taught me so much—that was emotional. It reminded me that the work we do really matters.”