Fidel Gomez
April 2015
Fidel
Gomez
,
RN, CNRN, SCRN
Critical Care
Broward Health Coral Springs
Coral Springs
,
FL
United States
The patient's wife brought her Husband to the ED due to unrelenting upper abdominal pain and vomiting; since her husband was not a complainer, she was quite frightened.
Fidel immediately whisked us into a room. This immediate nursing care right then eased my fear over the situation because I just knew we were in excellent hands. Fidel did all of the regular nursing things you would expect (asking about pain, history, etc.), but he was so attentive to H while managing to answer every question of ours in a way we understood! Fidel educated himself about H as a person and not just about what was happening at that moment. He made us feel like we were important enough for him to go over and above his job. We spoke about family, both his and ours, and about the fact that we were new to South Florida.
In between tests, Fidel spent a great deal of time educating us about what was happening and what the doctors were looking for. It was determined rapidly that he would need to stay in the hospital for what looked like a gall bladder problem. Another doctor came to see us and said he would be admitting H to the hospital and we were quickly assigned a room upstairs. Fidel took his duties to another level when he felt that something more was going on. H's blood pressure and heart rate were both high, which he had no history of, but everyone attributed this to the pain that he was experiencing. Ever vigilant, Fidel called the admitting physician and insisted that H's room be upgraded to telemetry monitoring. We did have to wait a little longer for this room, but Fidel assured us this was the right thing for H.
After two days in the hospital being treated with antibiotics and medicine for his persistent fever, H finally was taken to surgery where they found his gall bladder to actually be gangrenous, which surprised all of us. I was so glad at that moment that Fidel advocated so strongly because his instincts told him something more was going on. Who knows what might have happened to my husband if he hadn't?
How can I relate an experience so profound that it changed how I view nursing? My perception of the role nurses play in patient care is forever changed, and I cannot begin to thank him enough for everything that he did!
Fidel immediately whisked us into a room. This immediate nursing care right then eased my fear over the situation because I just knew we were in excellent hands. Fidel did all of the regular nursing things you would expect (asking about pain, history, etc.), but he was so attentive to H while managing to answer every question of ours in a way we understood! Fidel educated himself about H as a person and not just about what was happening at that moment. He made us feel like we were important enough for him to go over and above his job. We spoke about family, both his and ours, and about the fact that we were new to South Florida.
In between tests, Fidel spent a great deal of time educating us about what was happening and what the doctors were looking for. It was determined rapidly that he would need to stay in the hospital for what looked like a gall bladder problem. Another doctor came to see us and said he would be admitting H to the hospital and we were quickly assigned a room upstairs. Fidel took his duties to another level when he felt that something more was going on. H's blood pressure and heart rate were both high, which he had no history of, but everyone attributed this to the pain that he was experiencing. Ever vigilant, Fidel called the admitting physician and insisted that H's room be upgraded to telemetry monitoring. We did have to wait a little longer for this room, but Fidel assured us this was the right thing for H.
After two days in the hospital being treated with antibiotics and medicine for his persistent fever, H finally was taken to surgery where they found his gall bladder to actually be gangrenous, which surprised all of us. I was so glad at that moment that Fidel advocated so strongly because his instincts told him something more was going on. Who knows what might have happened to my husband if he hadn't?
How can I relate an experience so profound that it changed how I view nursing? My perception of the role nurses play in patient care is forever changed, and I cannot begin to thank him enough for everything that he did!