Juliet G Westermann
October 2023
Juliet G
Westermann
,
BSN, RN, CCRN
6S - WICU
ChristianaCare
Wilmington
,
DE
United States
I believe Juliet played a key role in helping the son, as well as other family members, find as much peace in a devastating time and helped support them.
I’ve had the privilege to work with Juliet for the past several years in Wilmington’s ICU and am always impressed with her keen awareness of patient and visitor needs, especially when it comes to the emotional support many of them find themselves needing during their time in the ICU.
I got to work alongside Juliet and observe this quality shine as she provided support for a son going through this mother’s brain death process over a four day period.
The patient had been admitted overnight, and when she came on to her first shift with the patient, she not only took time to provide detailed care for her unstable state but initiated what would be an incredibly respectful rapport with the son.
When she first met him, she noticed how heavy his need for support was during this unexpected time. Over the four days of working with the family, she also understood how close the son had been with his mother.
As our medical team began to understand the ultimate prognosis this patient would have, Juliet found herself being the ultimate middleman. She found the balance of clarifying the medical updates for him to understand but, more importantly, recognizing his individual needs- walking by his side through waves of anxiety, sadness, frustration, and loss. She delicately handled his emotional needs and the needs of the patient medically. She was, in my opinion, the sole person to identify and help alleviate a service recovery incident, which ultimately smoothed over our working relationship with the family.
At the end of our four days, the patient was pronounced brain dead, and to our surprise, the family signed on with Gift of Life. I believe Juliet played a key role in helping the son, as well as other family members, find as much peace in a devastating time and helped support them so they could be in an emotionally accepting place to make such a selfless decision to provide care and support for many other patients and families that could be recipients of the organ donation.
Working alongside her it is clear through every shift how extraordinary she is.
I got to work alongside Juliet and observe this quality shine as she provided support for a son going through this mother’s brain death process over a four day period.
The patient had been admitted overnight, and when she came on to her first shift with the patient, she not only took time to provide detailed care for her unstable state but initiated what would be an incredibly respectful rapport with the son.
When she first met him, she noticed how heavy his need for support was during this unexpected time. Over the four days of working with the family, she also understood how close the son had been with his mother.
As our medical team began to understand the ultimate prognosis this patient would have, Juliet found herself being the ultimate middleman. She found the balance of clarifying the medical updates for him to understand but, more importantly, recognizing his individual needs- walking by his side through waves of anxiety, sadness, frustration, and loss. She delicately handled his emotional needs and the needs of the patient medically. She was, in my opinion, the sole person to identify and help alleviate a service recovery incident, which ultimately smoothed over our working relationship with the family.
At the end of our four days, the patient was pronounced brain dead, and to our surprise, the family signed on with Gift of Life. I believe Juliet played a key role in helping the son, as well as other family members, find as much peace in a devastating time and helped support them so they could be in an emotionally accepting place to make such a selfless decision to provide care and support for many other patients and families that could be recipients of the organ donation.
Working alongside her it is clear through every shift how extraordinary she is.