Last week, I saw a patient with iron deficiency anemia whose hemoglobin substantially improved after she was given IV iron by a midlevel provider (and a different LVN gave her AVS). The patient was in tears as she recounted how terribly she felt a few months earlier (like I was going to die) and how she was told that there is a wait line in the infusion room and it could take several weeks to get an iron infusion started. Jennifer was passing by in clinic (she was not even assigned to this patient that day), saw the patient was in tears, stopped by and listened to the patient, and went above and beyond by giving the patient the infusion room phone number and giving her hope that things may work out and for patient to call infusion room in 2 days to check if there was a cancelation. Lo and behold, the patient took that advice and started infusion 2 days later (weeks to months earlier than if she just waited for the infusion room to call her). The patient said she felt so much better with infusions that she got a new life and was able to spend her Holidays feeling normal again.

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Jennifer helped immensely with this patient- a 26-year-old patient (challenging patient) who needed to be called to come in for a visit to start chemo at JPS ASAP (based on UTSW recommendations). I asked Jennifer to call this patient on a Monday, Jennifer left voicemails for the patient and her mother on Monday. She took the initiative to check again on Tuesday morning, patient returns her calls on Tuesday evening but refuses to start chemo until the following week which was not acceptable. With her persistence, care, and cajoling, the patient came for visit to see a midlevel provider in clinic that Thursday but still had reservations about starting chemo. It was through Jennifer’s resolve and tenacity (being there for the patient when patient randomly came back to clinic on Friday with certain concerns, and Jennifer took time to relay his fears) that patient finally started chemo that Saturday. This was accomplished even though Jennifer was in the role of primary nurse for another physician who had to oversee 30 patients who had clinic visits that week. (and I was seeing in-patients in the hospital that week) 

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Another young patient 21-year-old with an aggressive form of chemo received intense chemo and came for a nurse visit, the blood work showed low platelet of 6 and was severely neutropenic. Jennifer found out that ILR was busy that day and did not have time for a transfusion outpatient. The patient's only choice was to go to ER. Jennifer inquired (due to compassion for the patient, the patient did not even ask until now) if there was another way to avoid ER (and having the patient wait for several hours in ER to be seen, like 8-10 hours). When I said maybe we could get this patient directly admitted to Tower 7, she was thrilled with that idea, made several phone calls (to the T7 team lead, pharmacists, and authorization staff), and in 2 hours the patient was admitted to Tower 7 and received the transfusion, granix, etc she needed. Again one would think Jennifer had this only patient under her care the whole day. This was my clinic day, I had 29 patients in clinic that day, Jennifer had to get chemo consents, print AVs, do FMLA paperwork, and coordinate chemo schedules on these 29 patients and make the flow of these 29 patients run smoothly. The above described patient was not one of these 29 patients.