Ali Langtry
April 2023
Ali
Langtry
,
RN
Emergency Department
Riley Children's Hospital at IU Health
Indianapolis
,
IN
United States
Ultimately, the patient was discharged safely from the PICU two days later. Ali, without exaggeration, saved this patient’s life.
I am one of the Pediatric Emergency Medicine fellows. I work primarily in the Riley ED, and I can say without qualification that our ED is home to the greatest group of nurses I have ever encountered. To stand out in such an amazing group of nurses is no small feat, and that is exactly why I believe that Ali Langtry deserves special recognition.
My first major experience with Ali was with a particularly sick patient. Without going into the specifics, Ali was at bedside when she noticed a subtle change in the patient’s status. She immediately alerted me, and we moved the patient to a resuscitation room and called a medical alert. Due to Ali’s quick thinking and the fact that she had already established bilateral IVs, we were able to treat the patient appropriately and avoid a code. At this time, the patient was in stable V-tach and had a blood pressure of 50/20 just seconds before we gave the rescue medication. Had Ali waited even 15 seconds longer (or if she had not recognized how sick the patient was) she absolutely would have coded and may not have survived. Ultimately, the patient was discharged safely from the PICU two days later. Ali, without exaggeration, saved this patient’s life.
My next standout experience was more recent. A patient’s mother had become very upset and stepped out into the hallway, yelling at staff. Despite this not being Ali’s assigned patient, she immediately went to de-escalate the situation. She calmly identified the mother’s emotions, aligned herself with the mother’s concerns about her child, and calmed the situation down without the need to call security or further escalate the conflict.
While these events stand out in recent memory, I will say that they are completely in line with Ali’s day-to-day practice. Her compassion for patients and their families, competency at the bedside, and teamwork spirit are great examples of the very best of nursing.
As I mentioned earlier, we in the Riley ED have the best nursing staff I’ve ever had the privilege of working with. To stand out amongst such an elite group is a serious accomplishment, and so I am writing to you in order to nominate Ali Langtry for the DAISY Award.
My first major experience with Ali was with a particularly sick patient. Without going into the specifics, Ali was at bedside when she noticed a subtle change in the patient’s status. She immediately alerted me, and we moved the patient to a resuscitation room and called a medical alert. Due to Ali’s quick thinking and the fact that she had already established bilateral IVs, we were able to treat the patient appropriately and avoid a code. At this time, the patient was in stable V-tach and had a blood pressure of 50/20 just seconds before we gave the rescue medication. Had Ali waited even 15 seconds longer (or if she had not recognized how sick the patient was) she absolutely would have coded and may not have survived. Ultimately, the patient was discharged safely from the PICU two days later. Ali, without exaggeration, saved this patient’s life.
My next standout experience was more recent. A patient’s mother had become very upset and stepped out into the hallway, yelling at staff. Despite this not being Ali’s assigned patient, she immediately went to de-escalate the situation. She calmly identified the mother’s emotions, aligned herself with the mother’s concerns about her child, and calmed the situation down without the need to call security or further escalate the conflict.
While these events stand out in recent memory, I will say that they are completely in line with Ali’s day-to-day practice. Her compassion for patients and their families, competency at the bedside, and teamwork spirit are great examples of the very best of nursing.
As I mentioned earlier, we in the Riley ED have the best nursing staff I’ve ever had the privilege of working with. To stand out amongst such an elite group is a serious accomplishment, and so I am writing to you in order to nominate Ali Langtry for the DAISY Award.