Cassie Loucks and her orientee received a patient from the Cath lab post-TAVR. Upon arrival on the floor, the patient declined rapidly, and they quickly jumped into action, contacting the physician, placing orders, running STAT labs, etc. Cassie kept her critical thinking and RN skills on high alert, especially while having an orientee who is almost off training.

Cassie's communication to the resource, her pod partner, orientee, and physician was top-notch. She never hesitated, she never lost her cool, she was 1000% attentive to the patient as well as the family. The patient ultimately had a post-TAVR complication, which required another trip to the Cath lab to drain an effusion. Upon arrival back to the floor, the patient required multiple blood products and transfusions. Cassie and her orientee never left the room for almost 2 hours. The patient was alert and able to communicate his needs and concerns. Cassie did a phenomenal job training her orientee, all while performing every task needed to ensure this patient received the necessary care and treatments.

Ultimately, this patient continued to lose a lot of blood and ended up having to go to the OR for surgical repair. Cassie kept calling and getting updates from the OR and PACU. She ensured her documentation was complete and then cared for her other two patients after transporting the first patient to the OR. Cassie has been a phenomenal nurse, preceptor, and clinical leader in PCCU. She is molding the new nurses to critically think and take care of the patients with the utmost care, all while juggling her other patients and our new EMR. She was a huge help to PCCU during our go-live and continues to teach staff on it. Without her quick response and critical care knowledge, I feel we would not have had the positive outcome of this patient.