On Saturday a very acutely ill trauma patient was admitted to the Trauma Care Unit. On admission, multiple lifesaving procedures were performed that required the assistance of Ashley Leduc. Over the course of these four procedures, she was pivotal in helping to stabilize the patient and never once missed a beat. Her teamwork, positivity, and clear communication were the exemplar. Once all the bedside procedures were complete, the patient was rushed to radiology for further treatment. Ashley transported the patient and monitored him the whole time. She knew that resuscitation was a crucial treatment in this patient's care and continued with the massive transfusion. This involved at least 4 coolers of blood and continuous hemodynamic monitoring. When the procedure was done, the patient was completely hemodynamically stable, thanks to Ashley's diligent work. With her bedside efficiency and excellent critical care nursing skills, she was able to normalize the patient's coagulation status as well. After the five hour procedure in radiology, the patient returned to TCU. Ashley's attentive and remarkable work led to the patient being stable enough for OR. She then transported the patient up to OR efficiently and expeditiously without any hemodynamic problems.
The next day, Ashley was again assigned to care for this patient. In the morning, the patient went back to the OR and had an extensive six-hour surgery, resulting in a large blood loss. When the patient returned to TCU, he was on phenylephrine to maintain a normal blood pressure. Ashley judiciously took charge of his post-op resuscitation which required administration of numerous specific blood products. Once more, she was able to wean off all blood pressure maintaining medications and clear his lactic acidosis because of her excellent bedside nursing.
Time and time again, Ashley played a vital role in providing exceptional care to this patient during such an extraordinary circumstance. Her hard work and dedication are commendable. Ashley Leduc deserved special recognition for her outstanding critical care nursing skills that she displayed over those two straight days. There is no question in my mind, that without her skills, the patient would not be doing as well as he is presently.