We had an adolescent female on the unit that was very needy with her constant demands and created compassion fatigue with staff. One day she got very upset and started hitting the walls with her fists and her head asking, “Why does everyone hate me?” At that moment Dean came to the patient and showed her compassion and talked with her for 30-45 minutes to try and calm her down.

During that time Dean spoke to her with compassion to the point that she felt that she was being cared for and heard. The time and effort that Dean offered when speaking with her showed the excellence in his care and that he had integrity in his care. He could have been doing other things but he exemplified the value of humility as he put her needs above the needs of himself. He treated the patient as a whole and made her feel welcome on the unit. During the interaction I saw him use the principles of radical loving care as he was present in the interaction, he would pause before each response, he focused on her strengths to inspire her and chose to have a positive attitude when talking with this difficult patient.