Emily Begley
January 2015
Emily
Begley
,
RN
Telemetry, Oncology
West Chester Hospital
West Chester
,
OH
United States
Working night shift can be very challenging especially when a patient is in trouble. That was the case one particular night after Emily went in and assessed her patients. Her 76 year old patient had previously suffered a stroke and suddenly went into atrial fibrillation with a dangerously high heart rate. Emily was very concerned about her patient because she was unable to find pulses in her legs and she knew that this heart rhythm places the patient at risk for clots.
She immediately called the primary care doctor with her concerns but he said he would see the patient in the morning. Emily knew there was a trauma surgeon in the house and wanted him to come and take a look at her patient even though she was not his patient. The trauma doctor was reluctant at first but Emily was relentless. The trauma doctor came and assessed the patient and he sent the patient to UCMC for an emergency intervention which saved her life! Her persistence had paid off. She would not take "No" for an answer. She did the "Right Thing" for her patient. That is Extraordinary Care!!!
...
The second incident occurred late on a Sunday night, when a panicked man ran on to the 1st floor and yelled that his friend was laying on the concrete at the West Chester Hospital main entrance "is DYING!" Emily heard the cry and followed him, with fellow nurses and a PCA behind with a crash cart. As Emily ran she called the operator alerting a Code Blue. Once reaching the stricken "friend," a man in his mid-20s, she quickly assessed him. She realized he was alive, albeit breathing rapidly and shallowly, with a rapid heartbeat. His lips were blue.
Using her critical thinking, assessment skills and the history from his friend, she recognized he most likely had a drug overdose. She knew she would need to get an IV in place so she could give some Narcan which would reverse the effect of the narcotic. When the doctor responding to the Code Blue arrived, he agreed with Emily's assessment, ordered the drug and Emily administered it via the IV. The patient immediately responded and woke up, and he was ultimately taken to the emergency department. It is in large part due to Emily's quick, calm response that this man was able to leave the hospital early the next morning.
She immediately called the primary care doctor with her concerns but he said he would see the patient in the morning. Emily knew there was a trauma surgeon in the house and wanted him to come and take a look at her patient even though she was not his patient. The trauma doctor was reluctant at first but Emily was relentless. The trauma doctor came and assessed the patient and he sent the patient to UCMC for an emergency intervention which saved her life! Her persistence had paid off. She would not take "No" for an answer. She did the "Right Thing" for her patient. That is Extraordinary Care!!!
...
The second incident occurred late on a Sunday night, when a panicked man ran on to the 1st floor and yelled that his friend was laying on the concrete at the West Chester Hospital main entrance "is DYING!" Emily heard the cry and followed him, with fellow nurses and a PCA behind with a crash cart. As Emily ran she called the operator alerting a Code Blue. Once reaching the stricken "friend," a man in his mid-20s, she quickly assessed him. She realized he was alive, albeit breathing rapidly and shallowly, with a rapid heartbeat. His lips were blue.
Using her critical thinking, assessment skills and the history from his friend, she recognized he most likely had a drug overdose. She knew she would need to get an IV in place so she could give some Narcan which would reverse the effect of the narcotic. When the doctor responding to the Code Blue arrived, he agreed with Emily's assessment, ordered the drug and Emily administered it via the IV. The patient immediately responded and woke up, and he was ultimately taken to the emergency department. It is in large part due to Emily's quick, calm response that this man was able to leave the hospital early the next morning.