Kelsey Murphy, BSN, RN, CPN

One particular day, I was the charge nurse, and Kelsey was the bedside nurse for a young 14-year-old boy. Early in the shift, Kelsey made me aware that she was concerned about the patient. He was transferred from another facility for breakthrough seizures. Kelsey expressed concern for him still being very lethargic and difficult to arouse.

I went into the room to assess the patient myself, and Mom expressed no concern. She said the patient typically sleeps in late in the summertime, and that he received a Keppra load and Ativan at the outside facility.

Kelsey asked the Nurse Supervisor to come assess the patient for a second set of eyes and messaged the hospitalist to convey her concerns despite mom’s reaction. Once it came time for 11 o’clock vitals and the patient was still unarousable, Kelsey called the Rapid Response Nurse to come assess the patient. The hospitalist on for the day ordered a head CT and a VEEG.

While we were down in CT, the patient had several seizures back to back, and we were nervous he was entering into status epilepticus. Once we got back up to the floor, we called a med alert. The patient’s blood pressures were soft, and the patient was hypothermic and bradycardic. The patient ended up transferring down to the ICU.

Kelsey advocated so hard for that patient despite Mom’s lack of concern. This taught me a very important lesson as a charge nurse to always trust your nurses. So often, we are told to trust the parents and that the parents know their child best. Kesley’s advocacy and strong assessment skills make her such an incredible nurse!