September 2009
Bonnie
Whiteman
,
R.N.; CNL
General Vascular Surgery
Tucson Medical Center
Tucson
,
AZ
United States

 

 

 

It was an extremely chaotic day on the unit, and Bonnie was serving as a preceptor to a student who wrote the nomination. Suddenly there was a cry "help me, help me", it was a post op patient clearly struggling to breathe. Although it was not Bonnie's patient, she ran to the room and implemented the most compassionate care. She gently took the patients hand, and encouraged the patient to take nice slow deep breaths. The patient repeatedly exclaimed, "I am going to die!" Bonnie reassured the patient she was o.k., assisted the patient to get more comfortable in bed, and helped her calm down, and relax. Later in the shift, I found Bonnie sitting at the woman's bedside gently holding her hand...Bonnie is the best teacher, listener, and most compassionate Nurse who is always willing to go the extra mile.