A patient with a seizure disorder and psych history was seen leaving the unit via the stairs. Liz was the charge nurse and followed the patient down the stairs attempting to get the patient to agree to come back to the unit. She was very concerned about the patient leaving without his medication for his seizure or information on his follow-up due to a head injury. Unfortunately she was not successful in getting him to come back to the unit.
The patient continued down the stairs and out the door. Liz followed the patient from the hospital to the corner of Halsted and Clark Streets before security was able to come. She remained calm and tried to engage the patient during the entire episode speaking softly and trying to get him to return to the hospital. Regrettably, the police were required to get the patient to return to the hospital. Liz continued to take charge of the situation upon the patient’s return, informing the physician and the crisis team of the incident. She helped the physician document in the EMR so the patient could be held until a psych evaluation could be completed. Later, she identified the need for the patient to use the bathroom and called security to provide standby assistance with this, giving the patient the respect and dignity of using the bathroom while still maintaining the safety of the patient and staff.
Liz was able to help the nurse assigned to this patient and still give exceptional care to the patients assigned to her.