Veronica Zamoysky
Veronica Zamoysky is a new nurse, but in the short time that I’ve worked with her, I’ve noticed the great care and attention she gives to her patients. Recently, there was one particular situation that stood out to me. Veronica had a patient whom the day before had a liver biopsy done at BCVI. On this day, the patient was stable, vital signs were within normal limits, and the patient had not verbalized any complaints. The Doctor came in that day and reviewed the patient’s condition and was considering discharging the patient. Veronica then gathered the paperwork to possibly discharge the patient and call transportation to pick up the patient. She went in to further evaluate discharging the patient only this time the patient just didn’t look right to her. She decided to take his vitals and noted the blood pressure was only 70/40. She noticed the pt’s breathing was shallow and the patient was very weak. At this time, the patient was not at ease about being discharged. Very concerned for the patient, Veronica made the doctor aware of the patient’s status and requested that the patient not be discharged. The Doctor then decided to re-evaluate the discharge of the patient. She then returned to the patient, but the her critical thinking and gut feelings continued to tell her that something was not right with the patient. She voiced her concerns once more to the Doctor and insisted that the patient be looked at. Adamantly discussing the patient’s status with the Doctor, the Doctor decided not to discharge the patent. Labs and a Chest X-Ray were ordered that night and the patient’s H&H were critically low. The next day, a CCT was done and the patient was found to be internally bleeding. The patient ended going to the ICU. I feel that Veronica was an advocate for this patient. This patient could have easily been discharged and further consequences would have occurred, but she kept on insisting that something wasn’t right. She saved the patient’s life. Looking at this situation made me become more aware of one of my responsibilities as a nurse, and that is to be the patient’s advocate.
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