Gloria
Rueda
April 2010
Gloria
Rueda
,
RN
MS3/3South
Homestead Hospital
Homestead
,
FL
United States
Photo (l-r): Corey Gold (VP), Linda Simpson (Recipients’ Nurse manager), Bill Duquette (CEO), Gail Gordon (VP/CNO), Gloria Rueda (RN and Recipient), Kenneth Spell (VP), Victor Urbino (CRT, AP), Maikel Luis (RN and nominator).
Gloria Rueda had come to work like any other day. She expected another routine shift of the usual ups and downs in the unit. She was assigned to be the resource nurse to MS3 and 3South, a job that she performs quite well; little did she know that by the end of the day she would have made literally a life and death difference to one of her youngest patients.
On the prior shift, a young lady of 25 years of age had been admitted to MS3 for Deep Venous Thrombosis. Some of the blood levels that indicated problems with coagulation, such as clots, were clearly out of normal ranges. This was a fact that seemed to have escaped a few people on the prior department and some of the follow up testing that is usually done in cases like this was not performed. Somewhere along the way, the admitting physician had the impression that the young lady was ready to be discharged on that very same day and he gave orders to make it so.
At around mid morning, the patient began to complain of shortness of breath and sharp chest pain. After reporting her findings to the clinical nurse supervisor, Gloria immediately placed a call to the admitting physician in the hopes that he would order the scans that everyone else had overlooked. She kept a close eye on her patient while taking actions to prevent the patient from deteriorating any further. After 30 minutes the doctor had not called, but she did not give up. Gloria had him (the doctor) called through the overhead announcing system and when this did not accomplish anything she called him at his office where she refused to leave a message and stayed on the phone until he was able to respond. The necessary scans were ordered and it turned out that this nurse’s suspicions were right all along.
The patient was in the middle of developing a massive bilateral pulmonary emboli. Right away the much needed steps were taken to prevent the further development of this dangerous condition. In my opinion, this patient owes her life to the perseverance and stubbornness of one of the most amazing nurses I have ever had the privilege to work with. To this day, Gloria is an indispensable part of my team whom I trust and appreciate for the real difference that she makes in my floor every day. I’ll go to battle with her anytime.
Gloria Rueda had come to work like any other day. She expected another routine shift of the usual ups and downs in the unit. She was assigned to be the resource nurse to MS3 and 3South, a job that she performs quite well; little did she know that by the end of the day she would have made literally a life and death difference to one of her youngest patients.
On the prior shift, a young lady of 25 years of age had been admitted to MS3 for Deep Venous Thrombosis. Some of the blood levels that indicated problems with coagulation, such as clots, were clearly out of normal ranges. This was a fact that seemed to have escaped a few people on the prior department and some of the follow up testing that is usually done in cases like this was not performed. Somewhere along the way, the admitting physician had the impression that the young lady was ready to be discharged on that very same day and he gave orders to make it so.
At around mid morning, the patient began to complain of shortness of breath and sharp chest pain. After reporting her findings to the clinical nurse supervisor, Gloria immediately placed a call to the admitting physician in the hopes that he would order the scans that everyone else had overlooked. She kept a close eye on her patient while taking actions to prevent the patient from deteriorating any further. After 30 minutes the doctor had not called, but she did not give up. Gloria had him (the doctor) called through the overhead announcing system and when this did not accomplish anything she called him at his office where she refused to leave a message and stayed on the phone until he was able to respond. The necessary scans were ordered and it turned out that this nurse’s suspicions were right all along.
The patient was in the middle of developing a massive bilateral pulmonary emboli. Right away the much needed steps were taken to prevent the further development of this dangerous condition. In my opinion, this patient owes her life to the perseverance and stubbornness of one of the most amazing nurses I have ever had the privilege to work with. To this day, Gloria is an indispensable part of my team whom I trust and appreciate for the real difference that she makes in my floor every day. I’ll go to battle with her anytime.