April 2019
Kerri
Waddell
,
RN
NICU
Virginia Hospital Center
Arlington
,
VA
United States
Kerri offered to stay late to assist with a twin delivery that was expected to be complicated. Kerri noticed the mother was alone and obviously frightened and immediately pulled up a chair and took the mother's hand. She explained what was going on and what would happen. She asked about the mother, her family and the names of these anticipated children. Kerri's compassion did not stop there. Just before the delivery occurred the mother's 16-year-old daughter was brought in to be the support person for her mother. Kerri made sure this young girl was comfortable then returned to assist the NICU teams. When a twin did not survive, Kerri stayed in the OR to support the mother and the sister. Again, Kerri's compassion shined through. Seeing a need, she reached out to the NICU leadership to see about amending the visiting policy for this family. Kerri recognized this young girl has just witnessed a very traumatic event and being able to visit the surviving twin might help with the grieving process. Nursing is about more than just technical skill. It is about making sure that the patient/family is cared about. It is about seeing the whole picture. Kerri did just that. She provided comfort and compassion to the entire family not just the NICU patient in a time of need and she reminded me what it was to truly be great at nursing.