It was the afternoon at shift change. We had a patient on the floor who had been with us for a while. His condition had been deteriorating over the course of the last few days. During this particular day, he had changed markedly. He was made a CMO and was running a CBI for comfort due to the nature of his diagnosis. However, because of his mental status and level of agitation, it was difficult to keep him calm and in bed safely. Elana was his nurse. She fiercely advocated for his end-of-life care here at Southern, stating, “We are his family. We know him, and he knows us. Let him stay here.” Every few minutes his bed alarm would go off as he attempted to get up, not understanding he needed to stay in bed because of the CBI.
Elena’s attention to his comfort and safety was paramount; she never faltered in her kindness and never appeared aggravated or annoyed to the patient or to the staff. Each time she went into the room, she reassured the patient that he was safe and that she would take care of him, reorienting him to the care he was receiving, even though he didn’t really understand. She cleaned him up several times, as he had ostomies, and never flinched at the mess. In addition to this patient, Elana was managing a full five patient assignment and orienting a newly hired nurse to the unit. She is a great example of grace under pressure with compassion for her patient, who was not the easiest to care for even when he wasn’t so sick. We’re lucky to have Elana on 3 West and learn from her example.