Jessica
Nehrlich
October 2012
Jessica
Nehrlich
,
ADN
Cardiac Telemetry - Medical/Surgical
Ministry Saint Joseph's Hospital
Marshfield
,
WI
United States
Jessica Nehrlich exhibits the highly valued qualities and attributes of a caring compassionate nurse. She listened with her ears AND her heart, she made a difference in the life of our patient, provided extraordinary care to this patient and family and revitalized enthusiasm and energy for the nurses and physicians.
Our patient has maternal cardiovascular disease with significant cardiac issues and is at high risk for sudden death. When it comes to care of the maternal cardiovascular patient an integrated patient team approach is not only desired but necessary. Our patient successfully delivered and was on the obstetrical unit following delivery. Because of her significant cardiovascular issues, she needed specific detailed cardiac instructions to follow at home and documentation of those instructions. None of the obstetrical nurses had been trained in this area and did not have the specific expertise in these instructions or the method of documentation. We asked Jessica, who is a nurse on our cardiac floor and extremely competent in this area, to talk with the obstetrical nurses and help these obstetrical nurses with this issue of education.
Instead, understanding the situation, Jessica came and personally spent an entire hour with the patient and her family going over the instructions. Additionally, when she was done, she went back to the cardiac ward and documented all of the necessary information. The family was extremely grateful for the care and time she took, the obstetrical nurses were grateful to have someone with her expertise in this area counseling the patient, and we in the obstetrical/cardiology group were grateful and thankful that she took the time and effort to do this for our patient.
Jessica listened with her ears and her heart. She heard our request but also understood that in this young woman with significant cardiac issues, complete accurate instructions from an experienced nurse in cardiovascular disease could be lifesaving. So she took it upon herself to do the entire counseling and documentation even though this was not a patient assigned to her on the cardiac unit.
By giving these instructions, it is very likely this patient's life will be prolonged and repeat hospitalizations for decompensated cardiac problems will be lessened. So, this caring compassionate act touched not only the patient, but her newborn infant, her toddler, her husband and her other relatives. She made a difference in the life of this family.
Finally, by personally coming over to the obstetrical floor and providing the education, she not only provided extraordinary care to this patient and family, but also demonstrated enthusiasm and energy in nursing to her obstetrical colleagues and the obstetrical/ cardiology physicians.
Our patient has maternal cardiovascular disease with significant cardiac issues and is at high risk for sudden death. When it comes to care of the maternal cardiovascular patient an integrated patient team approach is not only desired but necessary. Our patient successfully delivered and was on the obstetrical unit following delivery. Because of her significant cardiovascular issues, she needed specific detailed cardiac instructions to follow at home and documentation of those instructions. None of the obstetrical nurses had been trained in this area and did not have the specific expertise in these instructions or the method of documentation. We asked Jessica, who is a nurse on our cardiac floor and extremely competent in this area, to talk with the obstetrical nurses and help these obstetrical nurses with this issue of education.
Instead, understanding the situation, Jessica came and personally spent an entire hour with the patient and her family going over the instructions. Additionally, when she was done, she went back to the cardiac ward and documented all of the necessary information. The family was extremely grateful for the care and time she took, the obstetrical nurses were grateful to have someone with her expertise in this area counseling the patient, and we in the obstetrical/cardiology group were grateful and thankful that she took the time and effort to do this for our patient.
Jessica listened with her ears and her heart. She heard our request but also understood that in this young woman with significant cardiac issues, complete accurate instructions from an experienced nurse in cardiovascular disease could be lifesaving. So she took it upon herself to do the entire counseling and documentation even though this was not a patient assigned to her on the cardiac unit.
By giving these instructions, it is very likely this patient's life will be prolonged and repeat hospitalizations for decompensated cardiac problems will be lessened. So, this caring compassionate act touched not only the patient, but her newborn infant, her toddler, her husband and her other relatives. She made a difference in the life of this family.
Finally, by personally coming over to the obstetrical floor and providing the education, she not only provided extraordinary care to this patient and family, but also demonstrated enthusiasm and energy in nursing to her obstetrical colleagues and the obstetrical/ cardiology physicians.