I have had the privilege to work with Lynsie for the last 6 years as her director. She was a new grad nurse when she started on nights in ICU and although I was not the director who hired her, I was immediately impressed with her knowledge and energy. She is a smart nurse who enjoys caring for complicated patients. She is one of the primary preceptors on nights and often works as charge nurse during her shift. She is often recognized by patients and her coworkers for her care and teamwork. She is a great asset to our team. I am always more relaxed when she is working but I never thought that I would have to see her skills from the perspective of a family member.
I received a call from my mother that she was unable to wake my father up and the squad was there to take him to the hospital. Although my parents are older with some chronic health issues, they are not yet of retirement age and are completely independent. This was an unexpected call and at first, I was not overly concerned about what was happening. A short time later I received a text that stated they were in the ED and they were putting my father on a ventilator. I rushed to the hospital to see what was happening and found him in a very critical condition.
I met Dr. N in the ED room where I found out he was dig toxic and his potassium was 8.4. He was in acute kidney failure. He had also aspirated in the ambulance and was unable to maintain his airway. He was admitted, intubated with orders for emergent dialysis, central line placement, vasopressors, etc. Although Lynsie was not the admitting nurse, she took over care a couple of hours later when his condition was declining, and the dialysis was starting.
Lynsie also had a newly hired ICU nurse with her who was on her 4th night of orientation. I am sure that was a nightmare since her orientee really hadn't even gotten to know me yet. Both of the nurses took it all in stride and my father was the best patient for a critical care experience, so they got busy trying to stabilize him. What I watched from the hall window was the beautiful dance of critical care nursing.
Lynsie was thinking two steps ahead for every intervention she was doing. She was teaching as she went and communicating with the providers and E-ICU. She had just the perfect mix of allowing the new nurse the experience of hanging meds and notifying the physicians and knowing when to take over and explain things as she went because of his acuity. She was at the bedside adjusting and hanging new medications and closely working with RT to make sure he was ventilated. Through most of the night, there was 4 or 5 staff in the room at all times running dialysis, starting IVs, drawing labs and Lynsie was coordinating it all. She made sure I knew what was happening even when I was just trying to stay out of their way. She never made me see her concern and just kept dancing. Although I knew how acute the situation was, she never made it feel out of control. The team saved his life that night and Lynsie was the leader.
Lynsie cared for him the next two nights following his admission. She got to experience the joy of saving him and then the unfortunate aftereffects of his confusion and hallucinations. She probably had him on his worst shift, and she did everything she could to keep him safe. I am grateful for all she did, her skill and her compassion. It is difficult for me to go home and sleep when I have family in the hospital because I know too much. I know about the medical errors that can happen and the issues that patients have when families are not in the room. Knowing Lynsie was caring for him at night allowed me to go home and rest knowing he was getting the best care possible.