Jen Cousar
August 2022
Jen
Cousar
,
MSN, RN
Medical Intermediate Care Unit
Penn State Health- Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
Hershey
,
PA
United States
Jen felt so passionate and driven to provide him with the best care that she truly went above and beyond for him.
Jen is a fierce advocate for her patients and her passion for nursing is palpable in the Medical Intermediate Care Unit. She serves as a pillar for knowledge and leadership and serves as a true mentor for all staff ranging from the most experienced staff nurses to capstone students. I cannot pinpoint each and every time Jen has provided an extraordinary patient experience but I can detail her most recent application of true Penn State Hershey RITE values of nursing.
Jen recently was taking care of a patient with a diagnosis of end-stage liver disease. This patient made a last-minute decision to go home on hospice and Jen worked tirelessly with the primary team, pharmacy, hospice, and social work to discharge the patient home as soon as possible. When it seemed that all of the details were finalized, the patient's mother told Jen that the pharmacy (Rx to go) was able to fill all of the patient's medications except his pain medication. The patient, at the time, was requiring pain medication every three to four hours to control his pain and Jen recognized that the patient would be without pain control for over 14 hours. Despite the fact that the patient still wanted to be discharged, Jen followed up after his discharge to provide the patient with the best possible outcome for his goals of care.
The patient was discharged very close to shift change, and Jen proceeded to reach out to his hospice company to make them aware of his lapse in pain control. Through that phone call, Jen was able to learn that the hospice company was not taking over his case until the morning. They also were not provided with his contact location, and Jen was able to update the company on his discharge plan. She also reached out to the attending physician after hours and collaborated to create a plan to call in a prescription for enough pain medication to get him through his first night until he could pick up his original prescription in the morning. This was all done after the patient was discharged, and after Jen's shift had already ended.
She felt so passionate and driven to provide him with the best care that she truly went above and beyond for him. This single event is just the tip of the iceberg in regard to Jen's passionate nursing care. She truly exemplifies all of the DAISY criteria and deserves to have all of her efforts recognized.
Jen recently was taking care of a patient with a diagnosis of end-stage liver disease. This patient made a last-minute decision to go home on hospice and Jen worked tirelessly with the primary team, pharmacy, hospice, and social work to discharge the patient home as soon as possible. When it seemed that all of the details were finalized, the patient's mother told Jen that the pharmacy (Rx to go) was able to fill all of the patient's medications except his pain medication. The patient, at the time, was requiring pain medication every three to four hours to control his pain and Jen recognized that the patient would be without pain control for over 14 hours. Despite the fact that the patient still wanted to be discharged, Jen followed up after his discharge to provide the patient with the best possible outcome for his goals of care.
The patient was discharged very close to shift change, and Jen proceeded to reach out to his hospice company to make them aware of his lapse in pain control. Through that phone call, Jen was able to learn that the hospice company was not taking over his case until the morning. They also were not provided with his contact location, and Jen was able to update the company on his discharge plan. She also reached out to the attending physician after hours and collaborated to create a plan to call in a prescription for enough pain medication to get him through his first night until he could pick up his original prescription in the morning. This was all done after the patient was discharged, and after Jen's shift had already ended.
She felt so passionate and driven to provide him with the best care that she truly went above and beyond for him. This single event is just the tip of the iceberg in regard to Jen's passionate nursing care. She truly exemplifies all of the DAISY criteria and deserves to have all of her efforts recognized.