Claire Clendenen
May 2023
Claire
Clendenen
,
BSN, RN
White 8 Medicine
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston
,
MA
United States
One day when Claire was caring for him, she was able to convince him to get out of bed and lifted over into the chair, which he hadn’t agreed to do in a couple of months.
In the months that I've known Claire, she's made invaluable contributions to my care, and I wouldn't want it any other way. She's funny, witty, wise, and helpful with whatever my needs were. Even fixing my iPhone - not everyone is as adept at phones as the young generation. She likes all sorts of music genres which helps brighten my day during my hospital stay. Most of all, I like her sense of humor and without that, we'd all be bored. My hospital stay has been tough and with her being my nurse, I feel my load has been lightened. In conclusion, she has been great.
***
We’ve had a gentleman, admitted to our unit for about 5 months now who’s incredibly medically complex. He’s very physically demanding to take care of and requires a lot of attention to detail to care for him. He’s now alert and oriented and has gotten very familiar with our staff over the months. He loves it when the nurses come into his room to help him, or even just for a quick hello.
His family lives far away, so even though they call him multiple times per day, they can’t visit very often. Claire is one of the nurses who often rotated in his assignment. They joke around together and have a great rapport. The patient has a very extensive wound, among other things, that has made him bed bound. He can be stubborn about repositions and movement despite frequent encouragement and explanation of the rationale.
One day when Claire was caring for him, she was able to convince him to get out of bed and lifted over into the chair, which he hadn’t agreed to do in a couple of months. She also decided that after 5 months in the hospital, he deserved a little entertainment and more human interaction, so she gathered all the equipment she’d need for him and put his chair out by the hustling and bustling nurses’ station for a couple of hours. The patient was the happiest I had personally seen him in the entire time he’d been admitted to us.
Sometimes we forget that while all the medical interventions we do as nurses are incredibly important, basic human needs are just as important too. After that day at the nurse’s station, he agreed to get up into the chair every day that week, and his wound nurses said his wound looked like it was looking better than before. I’d like to think Claire was a large reason for that mood change as well as his shift in wound-healing status. She prioritized his emotional needs while carefully balancing his medical needs as well. She’s an incredible nurse who went above and beyond by just thinking of the small stuff that day.
***
We’ve had a gentleman, admitted to our unit for about 5 months now who’s incredibly medically complex. He’s very physically demanding to take care of and requires a lot of attention to detail to care for him. He’s now alert and oriented and has gotten very familiar with our staff over the months. He loves it when the nurses come into his room to help him, or even just for a quick hello.
His family lives far away, so even though they call him multiple times per day, they can’t visit very often. Claire is one of the nurses who often rotated in his assignment. They joke around together and have a great rapport. The patient has a very extensive wound, among other things, that has made him bed bound. He can be stubborn about repositions and movement despite frequent encouragement and explanation of the rationale.
One day when Claire was caring for him, she was able to convince him to get out of bed and lifted over into the chair, which he hadn’t agreed to do in a couple of months. She also decided that after 5 months in the hospital, he deserved a little entertainment and more human interaction, so she gathered all the equipment she’d need for him and put his chair out by the hustling and bustling nurses’ station for a couple of hours. The patient was the happiest I had personally seen him in the entire time he’d been admitted to us.
Sometimes we forget that while all the medical interventions we do as nurses are incredibly important, basic human needs are just as important too. After that day at the nurse’s station, he agreed to get up into the chair every day that week, and his wound nurses said his wound looked like it was looking better than before. I’d like to think Claire was a large reason for that mood change as well as his shift in wound-healing status. She prioritized his emotional needs while carefully balancing his medical needs as well. She’s an incredible nurse who went above and beyond by just thinking of the small stuff that day.