Mary Lang-Scheuer
October 2022
Mary
Lang-Scheuer
,
RN
ICU
Aurora Sinai Medical Center
Milwaukee
,
WI
United States
Mary said she would take care of it, got on a chat with the doctor, and in less than ten minutes the medication change was in effect.
While my wife was a patient at ASLMC and after her transfer to ASMC, every nurse assigned to treat my wife was either good or excellent. All nurses asked if we had questions, all asked if we needed anything, all were careful to follow the doctor’s orders and all cared for my wife’s needs. There was one nurse; however, who stood out, and went above and beyond, exceeding my expectations in caring for my wife.
That nurse, “Mary L” so impressed both me and my stepdaughter. We both agreed we had to let her management know. Multiple typed pages would be required to cite all the examples of how Mary L. went above and beyond, but here are 2 examples of Mary’s nursing excellence:
My wife was on a feeding tube, but no longer on an IV. I could tell she was still dehydrated, and I asked two shifts of nurses to contact the physician to ask if they can give her more fluids. Each time we were advised that the doctors want her to get fluids from the food being supplied through her feeding tube and fluids used in the feeding tube flush. The first time that Mary L. was assigned to care for my wife in ICU, Mary took one look at my wife, told us she looked dehydrated, walked out, called the doctor, and walked back into my wife’s ICU room and hooked up a bottle of fluids. While she is doing that, I hear her thinking to herself out loud, “We are going to get that hair washed tonight, change that gown...”
In another example, I had tried over the period of two days to ask one of my wife’s physicians to lower the dosage of a med that was making my wife sleepy and confused. I left messages for the physician, I asked another physician who stopped by my wife’s room to contact the physician about the requested medication change, and I asked a nurse on an earlier shift to leave a message for the doctor. Then Mary L. started her shift and asked if there was anything she could do. I mentioned my frustration in contacting the physician about my request to lower the medication dose. Mary said she would take care of it, got on a chat with the doctor, and in less than ten minutes the medication change was in effect.
Mary, who shared with us that she had been a nurse for over 30 years, is modest and will likely respond to this DAISY Award nomination that she was “just doing her job.” She does more than that, she is a whirlwind of making things better for the patient throughout her shift. Thank you for making it possible to recognize an extraordinary caregiver.
That nurse, “Mary L” so impressed both me and my stepdaughter. We both agreed we had to let her management know. Multiple typed pages would be required to cite all the examples of how Mary L. went above and beyond, but here are 2 examples of Mary’s nursing excellence:
My wife was on a feeding tube, but no longer on an IV. I could tell she was still dehydrated, and I asked two shifts of nurses to contact the physician to ask if they can give her more fluids. Each time we were advised that the doctors want her to get fluids from the food being supplied through her feeding tube and fluids used in the feeding tube flush. The first time that Mary L. was assigned to care for my wife in ICU, Mary took one look at my wife, told us she looked dehydrated, walked out, called the doctor, and walked back into my wife’s ICU room and hooked up a bottle of fluids. While she is doing that, I hear her thinking to herself out loud, “We are going to get that hair washed tonight, change that gown...”
In another example, I had tried over the period of two days to ask one of my wife’s physicians to lower the dosage of a med that was making my wife sleepy and confused. I left messages for the physician, I asked another physician who stopped by my wife’s room to contact the physician about the requested medication change, and I asked a nurse on an earlier shift to leave a message for the doctor. Then Mary L. started her shift and asked if there was anything she could do. I mentioned my frustration in contacting the physician about my request to lower the medication dose. Mary said she would take care of it, got on a chat with the doctor, and in less than ten minutes the medication change was in effect.
Mary, who shared with us that she had been a nurse for over 30 years, is modest and will likely respond to this DAISY Award nomination that she was “just doing her job.” She does more than that, she is a whirlwind of making things better for the patient throughout her shift. Thank you for making it possible to recognize an extraordinary caregiver.