I am truly inspired by Emily Templeton, RN. Few people display the compassion and empathy that radiates from her on a daily basis. As an ICU RN, Emily has definitely grown by leaps and bounds in her clinical judgment and is confident to care for any patient, regardless of the acuity. However, recently, Emily not only nursed a sick patient who had been on our unit for weeks back to health, but also helped him gain back his dignity and composure.
This particular patient was extremely deconditioned due to a CHF exacerbation that left him short of breath on the smallest exertion and spun his heart into a dangerously fast arrhythmia. Being bed bound frustrated this patient to no end since he was extremely independent at home and was used to doing everything for himself. As his stay wore on he began to get more and more agitated and depressed due to his weakened condition and had made multiple dangerous attempts to get out of bed. Despite how difficult it was to appease this patient, Emily took care of him for days in a row and never complained about her assignment. Instead, she developed a helping relationship with this patient and was there for him to ensure his safety and attend to his medical and emotional needs.
One morning after shift report, Emily noticed that the oncoming AM nurse was having a difficult time with this patient because he demanded to use the toilet and was refusing the bedpan and commode. He apparently hadn’t used the bathroom in days and was yelling at the AM nurse. Emily stayed well after her shift to help deescalate the situation. She stood by him as he attempted to sit at the edge of the bed and was there for him when he cried once he realized he couldn’t.
The extra time she spent with him during his bout of frustration and her reassurance helped improve the emotional state of this patient. Although the patient remained on our unit for an extended amount of time, his overall outlook on his stay improved as well as his medical condition and he was later downgraded.