I wanted to reach out regarding two members of the exceptional nursing team at CMC that I was fortunate enough to work within the ED. Both Amanda Chappell and Rachel Delp deserve recognition for their professionalism, level of care, and swift actions yesterday.
The situation was that a 17-month old female arrived to the ED with possible syncopal episode/rule out drowning. She was awake upon arrival but in clear distress and was having possible neurologic symptoms. As is often the case with emergency situations, especially pediatric cases, way too many personnel arrive and it becomes more of a hindrance than a benefit. In this scenario yesterday both Amanda and Rachel worked together and commanded the room, advocated for the patient to get an anesthesia consult for the imminent intubation, and made sure to allow only essential personnel to be in the room.
Amanda and Rachel exemplified the teachings of an HRO. They used the STAR method when their clinical judgment indicated that it was more than just a possible fever and pushed for further evaluation and treatment, which the medical team later identified as seizures. They used the "repeat and read back closed-loop communication" when requesting medications and cross-checked me when I was emergently preparing medications for the patient.
Their teamwork, calmness under pressure, and ability to effectively and safely communicate is a best practice that all practitioners should emulate especially in an emergent pediatric case. Rachel and Amanda advocated for their patient and their perseverance in doing so made all difference. I am proud to have nursing colleagues such as them and I feel confident in our management of patients when I know they are around. I firmly believe that last night went as smoothly as it did because these two exceptional nurses played such a major role in the patient's treatment.