Michelle Paterson
July 2021
Michelle
Paterson
,
RN
EP 4-6
Yale New Haven Hospital
New Haven
,
CT
United States
Michelle worked with him to get him to a place where she could remove his restraints without jeopardizing his safety.
Michelle Paterson is one of our Preceptors & Charge nurses on EP 4-6. Michelle is the nurse that we would all want caring for us or our family members. She displays kindness and compassion to all of the patients that she cares for, and it is very easy to see even when you are just meeting her for the first time that she takes pride in her daily work. You will often find Michelle sitting at the bedside educating her patients and their families in ways that they can understand which ensures a smooth transition home. She does not hesitate to arch up her concerns to the patient’s clinical team regarding their plan of care or speak up for safety. She is so in-tune with her patient’s needs that she quickly picks up on minor changes in their condition. Michelle is a role model for all the standards of professional behavior and goes above and beyond to show empathy, never hesitating to lend a listening ear to all her patients and families. As a preceptor, she sets a high standard for everyone that she trains. She not only orients our new nurses to clinical tasks, but she also teaches them to be compassionate nurses. Her calm demeanor is felt by all around her, and she quickly puts her patients and peers at ease.
Michelle makes special connections with many of her patients. Last year she made a special connection with one patient, R. Mr. R was a patient on our unit for four months. Upon transfer to our unit, Mr. R had a trach and a peg tube and was in restraints due to his impulsive behavior where he would pull at his lines, putting him at harm. Mr. R. quickly became one of Michelle’s favorite patients and Michelle quickly became Mr. R’s favorite nurse. She would insist on being assigned to him for every shift that she worked. Michelle worked with him to get him to a place where she could remove his restraints without jeopardizing his safety. Because Mr. R was a Traumatic Brain Injury patient, when he first arrived at our unit, he had minimal use of his hands, could not walk, and could barely speak. During the four months that he was with us, he slowly regained the use of his hands and began to speak more clearly. Michelle worked closely with physical therapy to get Mr. R to sit up on the edge of the bed and then to the amazing feat of walking. You could see the pride on his face as he walked down the hallway with the help of his nurses and physical therapy. I truly believe that the bond that Michelle created with this patient helped him to improve in ways that many thought were not possible.
Michelle not only created a strong bond with Mr. R but she also with his mother and father who were present at his bedside every day. It was through her encouragement with the patient and his family that they all felt strong enough to take him home instead of placing him in a TBI facility. Michelle educated his parents on how to properly care for their son, which gave them the tools to successfully care for him once he was discharged home. Because Michelle went above and beyond to care for this patient and his family, the patient was able to be safely discharged home. His mother still calls the unit from time to time to speak with Michelle. They are all so grateful for the care that he received from our team and most importantly Michelle, without whom, it is uncertain where Mr. R would be right now..
Michelle makes special connections with many of her patients. Last year she made a special connection with one patient, R. Mr. R was a patient on our unit for four months. Upon transfer to our unit, Mr. R had a trach and a peg tube and was in restraints due to his impulsive behavior where he would pull at his lines, putting him at harm. Mr. R. quickly became one of Michelle’s favorite patients and Michelle quickly became Mr. R’s favorite nurse. She would insist on being assigned to him for every shift that she worked. Michelle worked with him to get him to a place where she could remove his restraints without jeopardizing his safety. Because Mr. R was a Traumatic Brain Injury patient, when he first arrived at our unit, he had minimal use of his hands, could not walk, and could barely speak. During the four months that he was with us, he slowly regained the use of his hands and began to speak more clearly. Michelle worked closely with physical therapy to get Mr. R to sit up on the edge of the bed and then to the amazing feat of walking. You could see the pride on his face as he walked down the hallway with the help of his nurses and physical therapy. I truly believe that the bond that Michelle created with this patient helped him to improve in ways that many thought were not possible.
Michelle not only created a strong bond with Mr. R but she also with his mother and father who were present at his bedside every day. It was through her encouragement with the patient and his family that they all felt strong enough to take him home instead of placing him in a TBI facility. Michelle educated his parents on how to properly care for their son, which gave them the tools to successfully care for him once he was discharged home. Because Michelle went above and beyond to care for this patient and his family, the patient was able to be safely discharged home. His mother still calls the unit from time to time to speak with Michelle. They are all so grateful for the care that he received from our team and most importantly Michelle, without whom, it is uncertain where Mr. R would be right now..