Karen Severance
April 2016
Karen
Severance
,
RN
Mother Baby Unit
Mission Hospital
Asheville
,
NC
United States
Dear Karen, I suspect that Tuesday was just a normal, uneventful shift at work for you, so I think it is important you know that you made it an extraordinary day for me and my husband.
Patient Centered Care: You connected with us on such a personal level, which made it so easy to communicate our needs to you. I don't know if you noticed my anxiety level (!!!), but I trusted that you would get me safely through delivery. Your humor lightened the mood, when needed for some of my unnecessary concerns, which I will not mention here! You provided support for my husband and included him throughout the process, particularly encouraging him to look as our baby was born. You also tactfully educated my parents throughout the day.
Your compassion, when I was scared and crying towards the end, was one of the things that helped me find the last ounce of energy to push. It was also so nice to see you the next day, when you stopped by to say hello.
Service Excellence: You were professional throughout the shift, even with all of the questions from my parents and me. It was clear that you were communicating with the doctor and other staff as needed. Thank you for helping me with pain control. You were confident and clear in your communications with us, which made it easy to trust and rely on you.
Clinical Expertise: Most of the day was fairly hazy, but what is clear is your high standards of nursing care and excellent critical thinking skills. You brought out the peanut ball when I needed to dilate that last little bit, which worked within minutes. When my pain was more than I could handle, you did what you could to alleviate it as much as possible, through medication, emotional support and positioning.
You took the time to explain how the delivery would work and prepared us for what would happen after delivery. It was the most terrifying experience we have ever been through, watching the Neonatal ICU staff work on our baby. Thank you for preparing us as much as possible. I hope you know the difference you made in our lives that day as we welcomed our beautiful daughter.
Patient Centered Care: You connected with us on such a personal level, which made it so easy to communicate our needs to you. I don't know if you noticed my anxiety level (!!!), but I trusted that you would get me safely through delivery. Your humor lightened the mood, when needed for some of my unnecessary concerns, which I will not mention here! You provided support for my husband and included him throughout the process, particularly encouraging him to look as our baby was born. You also tactfully educated my parents throughout the day.
Your compassion, when I was scared and crying towards the end, was one of the things that helped me find the last ounce of energy to push. It was also so nice to see you the next day, when you stopped by to say hello.
Service Excellence: You were professional throughout the shift, even with all of the questions from my parents and me. It was clear that you were communicating with the doctor and other staff as needed. Thank you for helping me with pain control. You were confident and clear in your communications with us, which made it easy to trust and rely on you.
Clinical Expertise: Most of the day was fairly hazy, but what is clear is your high standards of nursing care and excellent critical thinking skills. You brought out the peanut ball when I needed to dilate that last little bit, which worked within minutes. When my pain was more than I could handle, you did what you could to alleviate it as much as possible, through medication, emotional support and positioning.
You took the time to explain how the delivery would work and prepared us for what would happen after delivery. It was the most terrifying experience we have ever been through, watching the Neonatal ICU staff work on our baby. Thank you for preparing us as much as possible. I hope you know the difference you made in our lives that day as we welcomed our beautiful daughter.