... I summoned rapid response one night because my patient just did not look right. There wasn't anything big that stood out, but I could tell just by looking that the patient was deteriorating. Bridget responded as the rapid response nurse. She agreed that something appeared to be wrong with the patient and suggested some tests to request from the doctor. She had to leave on another RRT call but gave me her phone number and promised to check back. I struggled with getting orders from the doctor because there was no definitive evidence that something was wrong with the patient. Eventually some tests were ordered and carried out. Meanwhile, the patient showed signs of further decompensation.

The tests results did show that the patient was suffering from a very serious medical situation. While on her other call, Bridget stayed in touch with me via phone to review the test results. She felt that the patient qualified to be transferred to ICU and helped facilitate the process by giving the intensivist a heads up. There was some difficulty with obtaining a transfer order from the attending physician, but Bridget encouraged me to push and coached me on what to say. Eventually the patient was transferred to ICU. This occurred after change of shift, but Bridget stayed over to make sure the patient was safely transferred and settled into the new unit.

Bridget went above and beyond in advocating for the patient's needs even when she faced resistance. She also went above and beyond by continuing to follow the patient and check in with me after the formal rapid response call was over. With the shift over and the patient safely transferred, Bridget had more than done her job. However, Bridget didn't quit there. The patient turned out to be very ill, requiring extensive life-sustaining intervention. Ultimately the patient did not survive the hospitalization. When the patient died several days later, Bridget sought me out to talk to me about it. She helped me to debrief and made sure that I knew that I did everything I could for the patient.

I believe that Bridget's excellent nursing judgment and perseverance gave the patient the only chance he had at living. Her support helped give me confidence to keep approaching the physician and advocating for the patient. Her choice to seek me out and debrief with me is just one example of her compassion and strong desire to support her co-workers. For these reasons, I believe that Bridget is deserving of the DAISY Award.