Darcy is quite possibly one of the best nurses I have ever known, and for many reasons. She is an excellent care giver, patient advocate and critical thinker. I have seen her save many of our patients’ lives, whether they were her patients, or someone else’s. She is incredibly intuitive and can pick up on the most subtle of changes in a patient’s status, and always has the patient’s best interest at heart. She acts quickly to stabilize the patient.
I remember one day in particular, the doctor was considering terminating care on a new patient from the ED on a large list of IV meds sustaining life. It was presumed that he was in cardiogenic shock with a low EF, and wouldn’t be able to be weaned off the meds. She mentioned to me that he looked ‘too pink’ to be in cardiogenic shock, and thought maybe he was more septic. That day shift, the doctor ran some more tests based on my report to him, we made some changes in his therapies and discovered him to be septic. We were able to wean the drips, extubate him and he walked out of the ICU a few days later. I’m not sure if I would have made those recommendations if it weren’t for the subtlety in his color that Darcy picked up on. This is just one example of many that I have witnessed.
Darcy is also an incredibly skilled teacher and preceptor for CRRT, post open heart surgical ICU nursing, Intra-aortic balloon pump both in the ICU and the OR. When we have had nurses struggle with a new skill, Darcy is always there to encourage them in their learning, and does not give up on them in the process.