Paramedics brought Mom to the Emergency Department because she was having chest pain. Mom alerted my sister and then me from her home, but given we were both a distance away we told her to call 911 immediately. Needless to say, our mom, at 93 years of age, needed encouragement when she landed there alone.
Mom's good fortune was to have Christopher be the nurse assigned to her. From what she told me, he was calming and reassuring from the moment she arrived, which helped relieve her anxiety. He was friendly, caring, and quick to get her hooked up to the monitor so he could assess things before the doctor came in. She felt comforted by his professional and compassionate manner.
My sister arrived about 20 minutes later and she noted he "spent a lot of time with her, was knowledgeable and extremely helpful". Within the hour, I arrived and could see that when he was in the room he gave his undivided attention to her, asking questions, recording information, and answering our questions without being in a hurry, but according to mom, the best part was getting those nice warm blankets! She didn't even have to ask. Nor did she have to explain that her skin is very fragile; he just knew to use paper tape when possible. It was as if he understood her needs well before she could speak them. When thanked, he humbly said with a smile, "this is what I am here for".
Each time the doctor walked out of the room Christopher would make sure that Mom understood what she or he had said. He made certain that she understood her condition, Congestive Heart Failure and Atrial Fibrillation, terms she did not recall hearing from her cardiologist, and the plan going forward. Repeating information slowly and clearly was especially helpful to her. His ability to explain things in terms she could grasp was exceptional, all the while not giving more information than she wanted!
I believe that what made her rave about him was the fact that she knew with certainty that she could lie back and let this competent nurse take charge, something my dad had always done for her until he passed away four years ago. When it came time for her to be discharged, from the wheelchair she kept exclaiming how much his special care meant to her. With more than one hug, she profusely expressed how wonderful it was to have him as her nurse. She was so very appreciative for how she was taken care of by Chris, as were we.