Christina Putts
July 2015
Christina
Putts
,
BSN, RN
Cardiac Care Unit
Morristown Medical Center
Morristown
,
NJ
United States
It is with great pleasure that I nominate Christina Putts for the DAISY award to recognize her excellence in nursing. Christina consistently goes above and beyond the expectations of a critical care, bedside nurse. There are three circumstances in particular in which Christina acted as a patient advocate deserving of the DAISY award.
First, there was a patient in CCU who was requiring high doses of intravenous medications to maintain stability prior to open heart surgery. This unfortunate patient needed to have a dental procedure prior to this surgery, a procedure that could only be performed in the dental clinic for access to specific equipment. Many nurses were feeling uncomfortable in taking this patient to the clinic alone, an understandable fear of the patient becoming unstable in a non-acute care unit. The oral surgeon made arrangements to take the patient from CCU to the dental clinic at 8 PM, the only opening left before the scheduled surgery. After working a 12- hour shift with a full assignment of critically ill patients, Christina bravely volunteered to take on this additional responsibility, but insisted that the attending MD accompany her for patient safety. She expressed her conviction when asked why she volunteered after such a busy day in CCU; "It's simple, the patient needs the procedure. Any delay would cause his heart surgery to be delayed and put him at further risk".
A second example involves Christina's intervention to support the nurses in the Cardiac Catheterization Lab when a patient, post cardiac arrest, required hypothermia induction. It is exemplary that Christina stepped up and shared her knowledge and expertise with a unit that does not frequently initiate hypothermia.
In the last example, Christina volunteered to come in on her night off to assist the Emergency Department during a staffing crisis. As soon as she arrived, Christina assumed care of the mechanically ventilated patient in the ED until a bed was available in CCU. Christina not only assisted the ED, but then transferred the patient to CCU, helped settle the patient, staying until the staff was caught up and it was safe for the patient to be turned over to another nurse.
In summary, Christina is always going out of her comfort zone, and for these reasons and so many more, Christina Putts is more than deserving of the DAISY Award.
First, there was a patient in CCU who was requiring high doses of intravenous medications to maintain stability prior to open heart surgery. This unfortunate patient needed to have a dental procedure prior to this surgery, a procedure that could only be performed in the dental clinic for access to specific equipment. Many nurses were feeling uncomfortable in taking this patient to the clinic alone, an understandable fear of the patient becoming unstable in a non-acute care unit. The oral surgeon made arrangements to take the patient from CCU to the dental clinic at 8 PM, the only opening left before the scheduled surgery. After working a 12- hour shift with a full assignment of critically ill patients, Christina bravely volunteered to take on this additional responsibility, but insisted that the attending MD accompany her for patient safety. She expressed her conviction when asked why she volunteered after such a busy day in CCU; "It's simple, the patient needs the procedure. Any delay would cause his heart surgery to be delayed and put him at further risk".
A second example involves Christina's intervention to support the nurses in the Cardiac Catheterization Lab when a patient, post cardiac arrest, required hypothermia induction. It is exemplary that Christina stepped up and shared her knowledge and expertise with a unit that does not frequently initiate hypothermia.
In the last example, Christina volunteered to come in on her night off to assist the Emergency Department during a staffing crisis. As soon as she arrived, Christina assumed care of the mechanically ventilated patient in the ED until a bed was available in CCU. Christina not only assisted the ED, but then transferred the patient to CCU, helped settle the patient, staying until the staff was caught up and it was safe for the patient to be turned over to another nurse.
In summary, Christina is always going out of her comfort zone, and for these reasons and so many more, Christina Putts is more than deserving of the DAISY Award.