As a nurse leader I had the pleasure of rounding on the following patient being discharged. He had been in and out of the hospital several times that month and the doctors rounding in the morning set the tone and reinforced the plan for discharge, but the patient was feeling hesitant about this plan. It was the morning of discharge, and he was very apprehensive about the plan. He reported having chills overnight and didn’t feel ready to go. MJ took time to comfort the patient and reinforce that he wasn’t leaving that moment and they could reassess things after he ate breakfast, and she had time to finalize his orders and review them with him. In the afternoon, MJ took the patient's concerns to heart and trusted her intuition. Before removing the IV and sending the patient home, she took one last set of vitals. The patient now had a fever. This, in combination with how the patient was feeling, led her to advocate to the physicians. The physicians cancelled the discharge and started antibiotics over the weekend, which made a big difference in how he felt.

By Monday, when the patient was ready to be discharged, he was singing her praises. He told me, “I think you’re the right person to talk to. I want you to know that your nurses are absolutely amazing. I just feel so comfortable and safe here, but above and beyond that, I need to tell you about my nurse today, who was also my nurse Friday when the doctors were trying to discharge me. Friday, I felt tired, weak, and had chills, and I just didn’t feel right. When it came time for discharge, MJ was my best advocate. Through her discussion with the doctors, she had them agree that I should stay the weekend, and had I gone home, I don’t know what I would have done. I’m sure I would have been right back here.” The patient became tearful and had to take his time getting out his words recounting this experience, not out of being upset or frustrated, but out of an overwhelming feeling of how safe and protected he felt by our nursing staff and specifically MJ’s great communication skills and willingness to listen to him.

By Monday morning he was on board with the discharge and elated that MJ was the one back to discharge him. One thing I took away from this encounter was how much the patient emphasized MJ was his advocate, really living up to the name and ideals of Advocate Health. I know this patient, and I know he is going to tell everybody he knows about his incredible experience here at Masonic and his nurse advocate, MJ.