Chu Mei (Terri) Chen
February 2018
Chu Mei (Terri)
Chen
,
BSN, RN
Telemetry - Dept 335
Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Medical Center
Santa Clara
,
CA
United States
During the weeks Terri spent with him, it was obvious how proud he was of his accomplishments. She treated him with dignity and respect, encouraging him to do things on his own.
In the years that I have been at Kaiser, I’ve worked with many excellent care providers, including physicians, nursing staff and ancillary staff, however, Terri Chen is by far exceptional in so many ways. I work for the cardiac transplant team and take care of many complicated patients.
One such patient Mr. A has been followed by the Advanced Heart failure /MNS/Transplant serviced for many years. His course has been complicated as we have struggled with his heart failure, taken him through a rocky course with a left ventricular assist device (LVAD), and finally through a complicated transplant, and post-transplant course. Understandably, he’s struggled with depression, deconditioning, weakness, and oftentimes refuses to participate in PT, nor engage with the Healthcare team. It appeared that Mr. A would never make significant progress, and now we had to locate care facilities that may be able to meet his complex needs. Terri began to work with Mr. A, encouraging him to sit up at the side of the bed to develop core muscle strength for 30 minutes daily, so he would not slump in his chair. She massaged his contracted hands and feet and worked with extremity exercises to regain some of his prior strength and flexibility.
When he struggled with weaning from the vent for 5 minutes, she talked him through his anxiety so he could tolerate HOURS of vent weaning. The more time she spent with him, the better his affect and mood, the more willing he was to engage with other providers. During the weeks Terri spent with him, it was obvious how proud he was of his accomplishments. She treated him with dignity and respect, encouraging him to do things on his own, believing in him with the nurse's unique sense of compassion and respect. Whereas the rest of the caregivers had given up on his ability to ever wean from support. Terri questioned that belief and challenged us to do more for him.
In the 14 years that I have been practicing, Terri’s actions reminded me of the impact that one individual can make in the care of these complex patients. Terri does not have a prestigious title, administrative power, or positional influence. Rather, Terri showed her exceptional care through her bedside manner, everyday routine decisions/management to help the patient, and creative/innovative approach to thinking “out of the box”. We are fortunate to have this nurse care for our patients, and be a role model to our staff!
One such patient Mr. A has been followed by the Advanced Heart failure /MNS/Transplant serviced for many years. His course has been complicated as we have struggled with his heart failure, taken him through a rocky course with a left ventricular assist device (LVAD), and finally through a complicated transplant, and post-transplant course. Understandably, he’s struggled with depression, deconditioning, weakness, and oftentimes refuses to participate in PT, nor engage with the Healthcare team. It appeared that Mr. A would never make significant progress, and now we had to locate care facilities that may be able to meet his complex needs. Terri began to work with Mr. A, encouraging him to sit up at the side of the bed to develop core muscle strength for 30 minutes daily, so he would not slump in his chair. She massaged his contracted hands and feet and worked with extremity exercises to regain some of his prior strength and flexibility.
When he struggled with weaning from the vent for 5 minutes, she talked him through his anxiety so he could tolerate HOURS of vent weaning. The more time she spent with him, the better his affect and mood, the more willing he was to engage with other providers. During the weeks Terri spent with him, it was obvious how proud he was of his accomplishments. She treated him with dignity and respect, encouraging him to do things on his own, believing in him with the nurse's unique sense of compassion and respect. Whereas the rest of the caregivers had given up on his ability to ever wean from support. Terri questioned that belief and challenged us to do more for him.
In the 14 years that I have been practicing, Terri’s actions reminded me of the impact that one individual can make in the care of these complex patients. Terri does not have a prestigious title, administrative power, or positional influence. Rather, Terri showed her exceptional care through her bedside manner, everyday routine decisions/management to help the patient, and creative/innovative approach to thinking “out of the box”. We are fortunate to have this nurse care for our patients, and be a role model to our staff!