Ghada Mahmoud Mohamed, BSN, RN

During a high-census period during Ramadan, Ms. Ghada Mahmoud Mohamed was caring for a 70-year-old post-op patient in the general ward. On paper, the patient looked stable with an EWS score of 2, but Ms. Ghada’s focused assessment told a different story. She noticed cool extremities, a decreasing heart rate and blood pressure, and subtle signs of respiratory distress that weren’t yet reflected in the vital signs. Trusting her clinical judgment, she didn’t wait. She escalated immediately by activating the Rapid Response Team using SBAR, communicated clearly with the team, and supported the patient with continuous monitoring and oxygen while the RRT arrived.

Because of that early action, the patient avoided an ICU transfer. Within 12 hours, he showed measurable clinical improvement and was discharged home on the same day. The family expressed gratitude for her early communication and for explaining everything in a way that made them feel informed and reassured. Ms. Ghada then shared the case in the unit huddle to reinforce the message of “trust your assessment.” As a result, nurses on the unit began applying earlier escalation criteria, which contributed to a reduction in unplanned ICU transfers in Quarter 1. This case reflects Ms. Ghada’s commitment to clinical judgment, patient advocacy, and improving outcomes for complex surgery and medical patients in a busy general ward.