It is difficult to narrow down one specific example of RN Rider's exceptional care and role model behavior. RN Rider consistently goes above and beyond to serve Veterans with exceptional customer service and makes a difference in the lives of patients, daily. Mr. E is a former employee, as well as, a patient who was seen in IR for a paracentesis. While prepping Mr. E for his procedure, he mentioned that he was seen in another clinic earlier and the provider ordered lab work. Mr. E resides in a skilled nursing facility and would have to return to the medical center the following week to go to the lab. RN Rider had to start an IV for the procedure, so he offered to draw the lab work for Mr. E, allowing him to avoid a trip to the lab and another needle stick. In preparation to draw the lab work, RN Rider checked the computer for the lab orders and the orders had not been entered. RN Rider called the Nurse Practitioner who saw Mr. E earlier and she was not readily available to enter the lab orders. She asked RN Rider to enter the lab orders and she would co-sign them as soon as she was available. RN Rider entered the lab orders for co-signature by Nurse Practitioner, drew the blood on Mr. E during the IV start and took the blood to the lab for processing. Mr. E was very pleased that he did not have to return to the hospital the following week to get his blood drawn.
Another patient, Mr. M, is a 92-year-old WW II Veteran who was seen in IR for a thoracentesis. Mr. M was not aware that he was scheduled to go to the laboratory for blood work before his procedure, so when he came to IR, he was not prepared for the thoracentesis to be performed. Instead of sending Mr. M away and redirecting him to the lab, RN Rider drew the necessary lab work and took the specimen to the lab for processing; while Mr. M was able to comfortably wait in IR and not be shuffled back and forth between departments. RN Rider's colleagues were not supportive of his decision because the department was busy, but he did what was in the best interest if the Veteran.
One more, of many examples, of RN Rider's daily efforts to provide exceptional patient care, is when he made a recommendation to a referring physician to order an abdominal CT on Mr. D who was going to have an abdominal drainage catheter placed in IR. The referring physician wasn't completely convinced that the CT scan was necessary, but went along with the recommendation. The CT was performed and the following day when Mr. D arrived at IR for the abdominal drainage catheter to be placed, a paracentesis was performed first. The paracentesis revealed a large amount of bloody drainage, which was an abnormal finding. The abdominal CT that RN Rider recommended the day prior, was used by the Interventional Radiologist to determine Mr. D did not need an indwelling abdominal catheter, as previously thought; yet the source of bleeding needed to be determined. If RN Rider did not demonstrate extensive knowledge and have such exceptional interpersonal skills, that enabled the referring physician to trust his recommendation, the baseline CT scan would not have been available. The availability of the baseline CT scan changed the plan of care for Mr. D and resulted in a positive outcome for him. As evidenced by these few examples, RN Rider is consistent in his efforts to provide exemplary patient care and serves as an excellent role model to his peers.