I just want you to know how amazing Michelle was last night. She had a patient that came to us from the OR last night who had a failed attempt at a port placement. When assessing the patient, she noticed the patient's 02 sats were low and per protocol, she placed the patient on oxygen. The patient had a portable chest x-ray and the results were negative. Michelle listened to her gut and insisted that something was not right. In her assessment, she did not hear lung sounds on the left side. She called the doctor and requested an order for a 2 view x-ray and requested that she come and see the patient.
Michelle personally took the patient to radiology and he was continuing to decompensate. He was quickly wheeled back to the PACU and it was determined that the patient, in fact, had a large left pneumothorax. A chest tube was then placed at the bedside in PACU.
The reason that I think that Michelle deserves such a shout-out is that she continued to follow her gut feeling and continued to monitor and assess the patient even when the test results stated otherwise. Had she not following her instinct, the outcome for this patient may have turned out much differently. Way to follow your gut instincts and advocate for the patient!
Michelle is a great nurse and she really went the extra mile. In addition, we were very busy this night. She did not let this impact her care for the patient. Michelle stayed calm and gave the care that the patient needed on a high-pressure night.