Kat Dobbins, BSN, RN

First off, I always try to acknowledge good service, but this particular nurse stands out and will go far in her career; I am certain. Kat was assigned to take care of my mother-in-law, Mrs. D., during a recent admission after her last chemo treatment. Kat made sure to go over the plan of care to ensure everyone was working towards the same goal (which, of course, was getting her home once she became stable, which ideally would be by Thanksgiving, which was only two days away at this point).
B was admitted primarily for poor appetite, dehydration, and drowsiness. After making a huge improvement from where she was at the time of admission and getting the stamp of approval for discharge from cardiology and oncology, it seemed that there might only be a handful of things left to do. As we continued to cross tasks off the list, we were starting to see the light at the end of the week-long tunnel. It took a lot of instruction, coaxing, and patience to take pills by mouth.
First, it was thought she was sleepy, then it seemed like she was gulping fluid, belching, and spitting up the pills. Kat took the initiative to place another swallow test with speech therapy. Immediately, I complimented her critical thinking skills and passed along the great save to her leadership. What made this special to us was, of course, keeping our B for as long as we can. What made this special to her was that I was later told this was her first day off orientation. While we may remember this admission for separate reasons, I bet we both will always remember one another. If it had not been for her looking at the bigger picture, I have no doubt B would have gotten aspiration pneumonia at home, refused to come back, and this refusal to return would have led to her passing. The speech therapist completed a second swallow test, which went well until pills were attempted. Due to B’s current cognitive level, the simple act of taking pills overwhelms her. The speech therapist gave education on holding up fingers, and by the count of five, she needs to swallow; otherwise, aspiration pneumonia is still a risk. We, as the family, are so very thankful our guardian angel (a.k.a. Kat) replaced her angel wings with scrubs that day.