January 2018
Jennifer
Mattera
,
BSN, RN, CMSRN
Med-Surg
Newton Medical Center
Newton
,
NJ
United States

 

 

 

As a new nurse I have only experienced the death of a patient twice. The first I was completely shell-shocked as to how to handle the situation. Jennifer Mattera, RN did not flinch in lending me a hand. The patient was a middle-aged male in his 50's actively dying from lung cancer. He left behind a wife and 4 young children. I took care of him over the course of 4 days. When I admitted him on day one, he was laughing, cracking jokes and his only complaint was chemo-related diarrhea. But this attitude was short-lived. It turned out that the cancer had spread to his brain and colon. Little did I know that he would die 4 days later. On his last day, the patient was on a morphine pump, unresponsive to outside stimulus, and actively dying. The entire family was in the room moaning and crying desperately. I did not know how to handle what was going on. How was I supposed to talk to the family? What do I say? What happens after his death? What do I do with the body? Jen wasted no time in helping me. She could sense my discomfort and came to my aid without being asked. She came into the patient's room with me, spoke kindly when appropriate, was silent when necessary, and provided exceptional comfort care. She taught me what to do in that moment without saying one word to me. After the patient passed, Jen showed me how to do postmortem care, and helped me prep the body and place it in the body bag. She showed me how to contact the sharing network and explain the background and situation of what happened to the patient. Jen took time away from her patients to show exceptional compassions, not only to the patient, but to myself as well. Jen goes above and beyond exemplifying compassionate care, consistent clinical proficiencies, proficient decision-making capabilities, and exceptional interpersonal skills.