November 2018
Claire
Kirchmier
,
BSN, RN
Mother Infant Unit
VCU Health
Richmond
,
VA
United States
Claire has only been a nurse since May 2018 and I and other coworkers have already noticed that Claire is an outstanding nurse with enormous potential. On this particular night, Claire had a mother/infant pair and she was having concerns about the infant's wellbeing. There were several different symptoms that required interventions and Claire was on top of it the entire time. Even though the different symptoms separately called for no immediate emergent interventions, Claire continued to question and felt that something was not quite right. She spoke with the pediatrician several times and the MD reasonably reassured her that based on her intervention results, the baby was well. Something kept nagging at Claire and she brought the baby to the nursery for her fellow experienced nurses to observe the symptoms. After several minutes of observing the baby, new symptoms arose, and it appeared that the baby was having a seizure. Claire and the other nurses worked together to get the baby on the monitor and notify NICU for assistance. When the NICU team arrived, Claire was at full attention and was able to quickly and accurately answer all of the questions asked of her in relation to the baby's history and the observed signs and symptoms. After NICU assessed the baby, it was decided that the baby needed to go to the NICU for further evaluation. When the NICU attending went into the room to speak with the parents, Claire followed him into the room to be present for the parents. Claire was amazing the entire time and her thorough assessment skills, excellent communication, and her questioning attitude ensured that the baby was receiving the proper care and was being well taken care of. Awesome job Claire!!