Nikki Udomdej
January 2021
Arpunchanick
Udomdej
,
BSN, RN
Joint Inpatient Mental Health Unit, David Grant Medical Center
VA Northern California Health Care System
Providing foot and skincare to this homeless patient's feet resonated with her nursing core values as to why she initially became a nurse. This was a very personal nursing action in the care Nikki provided with this vulnerable patient.
Mrs. Arpunchanick (Nikki) Udomdej has been an RN for fourteen years. She has rotated between the inpatient and outpatient clinical settings. Her experiences here at DGMC, working on the Joint Inpatient Mental Health Unit (JIMHU) have been unsurpassed. These encounters have enabled Nikki to sharpen the skills necessary for her growth and development into a very confident and competent psychiatric nurse. She has evolved a keen sense regarding the complicated and unique opportunities mental health care patients present. Always providing holistic care, albeit active-duty personnel, their families, retirees, and veterans, Nikki exceeds the standard for not missing an opportunity for patient-centric care here at David Grant Medical Center (DGMC). She continuously refines her essential nursing skills into a more efficient and effective nurse leader. Always making her staff and patients her priority.
Working with such a vulnerable patient population, Nikki has been witnessed hand washing a homeless patient's feet. Her caring demeanor was evident during this most touching moment. Providing foot and skincare to this homeless patient's feet resonated with her nursing core values as to why she initially became a nurse. This was a very personal nursing action in the care Nikki provided with this vulnerable patient. Nikki has also been witnessed bringing in shoes and various items of clothing for our homeless veteran population. This was evident when one of our big, burly patients was walking around the unit in pink slippers. It was the only size we had that fit him. He did not care about the color; he was only too happy to have shoes. This was made possible because of Nikki's thoughtfulness for her patients. Having these slippers contributed to this patient's healing process, reducing his hospital days, level of foot pain, reduction in analgesics, and thus recovery time. Unbeknownst to Nikki, her colleagues are always closely watching her unselfish acts of kindness.
Being an accountable nurse, Mrs. Udomdej follows the nurses' code of ethics. Having a challenging patient one evening, Mrs. Udomdej knew the proper room would be closest to the nurses' station where staff would be better able to monitor this patient for self-harm. It was very early in the morning when the opening and quickly closing of the high acuity patient's door slammed shut. Startled, Mrs. Udomdej quickly jumped up and raised her voice towards the patient. Enough to stop him from his actions. This vulnerable patient had tied a knot into a sheet and tried to throw it over his door in a suicide attempt to hang himself. Mrs. Udomdej's actions saved this patient's life due to her quick thinking and nursing intuition. She further implemented one-on-one safety protocols and alerted all leadership of what had transpired. Mrs. Udomdej exemplified nursing excellence and expertise that evening.
Nikki connects with her patients through several mediums. Upon discharge, a recent patient stated, "Nikki was amazing, very compassionate, and always helpful. She never appeared to be bothered by any requests from any patients. She always tried to keep everyone's spirits high." When she walks on the unit beginning her shift, she is astute, professional and the patients smile to see her return. Nikki is recognized in several patient surveys yet there are a few which stand out, "Nikki was there when I needed something or just needed someone to talk to. She always stopped what she was doing and made sure I was okay. Thank you, Nikki, for being here for me in my time of need." Further acknowledgments stated, "Thank you, Nikki, for helping me when I was unable to help myself." A most opportunistic patient for Nikki was the one who stated, as he was discharging, physically walking out the door, he looked back towards her and simply said, "Thank you for saving my life."
Mrs. Udomdej not only embodies psychiatric nursing; she is a true reflection on the premise of a transformational nurse leader. This notion is reflected in the high level of care she displays daily, not unnoticed by her colleagues and the rest of the staff at the JIMHU AND DGMC. Thank you.
Working with such a vulnerable patient population, Nikki has been witnessed hand washing a homeless patient's feet. Her caring demeanor was evident during this most touching moment. Providing foot and skincare to this homeless patient's feet resonated with her nursing core values as to why she initially became a nurse. This was a very personal nursing action in the care Nikki provided with this vulnerable patient. Nikki has also been witnessed bringing in shoes and various items of clothing for our homeless veteran population. This was evident when one of our big, burly patients was walking around the unit in pink slippers. It was the only size we had that fit him. He did not care about the color; he was only too happy to have shoes. This was made possible because of Nikki's thoughtfulness for her patients. Having these slippers contributed to this patient's healing process, reducing his hospital days, level of foot pain, reduction in analgesics, and thus recovery time. Unbeknownst to Nikki, her colleagues are always closely watching her unselfish acts of kindness.
Being an accountable nurse, Mrs. Udomdej follows the nurses' code of ethics. Having a challenging patient one evening, Mrs. Udomdej knew the proper room would be closest to the nurses' station where staff would be better able to monitor this patient for self-harm. It was very early in the morning when the opening and quickly closing of the high acuity patient's door slammed shut. Startled, Mrs. Udomdej quickly jumped up and raised her voice towards the patient. Enough to stop him from his actions. This vulnerable patient had tied a knot into a sheet and tried to throw it over his door in a suicide attempt to hang himself. Mrs. Udomdej's actions saved this patient's life due to her quick thinking and nursing intuition. She further implemented one-on-one safety protocols and alerted all leadership of what had transpired. Mrs. Udomdej exemplified nursing excellence and expertise that evening.
Nikki connects with her patients through several mediums. Upon discharge, a recent patient stated, "Nikki was amazing, very compassionate, and always helpful. She never appeared to be bothered by any requests from any patients. She always tried to keep everyone's spirits high." When she walks on the unit beginning her shift, she is astute, professional and the patients smile to see her return. Nikki is recognized in several patient surveys yet there are a few which stand out, "Nikki was there when I needed something or just needed someone to talk to. She always stopped what she was doing and made sure I was okay. Thank you, Nikki, for being here for me in my time of need." Further acknowledgments stated, "Thank you, Nikki, for helping me when I was unable to help myself." A most opportunistic patient for Nikki was the one who stated, as he was discharging, physically walking out the door, he looked back towards her and simply said, "Thank you for saving my life."
Mrs. Udomdej not only embodies psychiatric nursing; she is a true reflection on the premise of a transformational nurse leader. This notion is reflected in the high level of care she displays daily, not unnoticed by her colleagues and the rest of the staff at the JIMHU AND DGMC. Thank you.