Karen consistently goes above and beyond for her patients and consistently demonstrates care, compassion, and excellent clinical skills. She is truly amazing! Here are a few examples:
Karen saw a young Hispanic male nursing student who came to the clinic with what appeared to be a straightforward case of strep throat. He presented to the clinic with typical signs of strep throat, a clinical exam and testing confirmed the diagnosis. She treated him utilizing evidenced-based guidelines with Amoxicillin. Two days later, he returned to the clinic with a full body rash and some bleeding from his mouth. She re-examined him and noticed a scattered macular rash over his body which resembled purpura and was surprised when she examined his mouth noting significant bleeding and a golf -ball size tender blood clot at the posterior gum line. Upon seeing this finding, she immediately referred him to the emergency room for likely thrombocytopenia purpura and strongly advise patient to never take Amoxicillin again.
Karen followed up with the patient the next day who was admitted to the hospital and indeed diagnosed with "drug-induced thrombocytopenia" with purpura. He shared that despite being in the hospital he "felt fine." He also shared that many medical providers visited him as he was a "special case" and no one had seen this condition in "real life", only in textbooks. He was also told by his doctors to never take Amoxicillin again.
Karen took this case a step forward for the entire team by sharing her experience and what she learned, she presented the experience as a case study on our monthly team call. This was quite an eye-opening experience for all of us.
Another great example is a wonderful compliment Karen received from a very grateful mom: Child was brought to the clinic for a "sick upset stomach" after a couple of questions and a quick assessment it was quite clear to Karen this child needed to be seen in the ER. Mom was slightly hesitant at first, but Karen was able to explain why she needed to go for further work up. Mom expressed she was grateful, stating they took their child to the ER and she needed her appendix removed. The child's mom was very thankful for Karen's referral to the ER and expressed a special thanks for her care and how sweet she was with her daughter who was scared and that really helped make it a better visit at the healthcare clinic.
Karen's care and compassion extend outside the clinic as well. Karen annually collaborates with her store manager to host a Holiday Feast for the local firefighters and paramedics that serve her clinic. Karen helps to arrange, cook, and deliver the meal as a thank you for serving the community. Karen is truly a DAISY Nurse in my book and so happy she is on my team.