Molly
Murphy
April 2018
Molly
Murphy
,
BSN
Saint Luke's College of Health Sciences
Kansas City
,
MO
United States
This student caught my eye because on her first day when I started to apologize that her patient was not an exciting critical care patient but rather a patient being prepared for long-term assisted living after a bout of an unfortunate illness, this student said to me "but I want to learn to take care of everyone." This student proceeded to treat any patient assigned to her with respect and with professionalism that I have since admired. At one point, this student had a patient that became palliative. It was sudden and emotional which, I have found that in sudden situations, most students feel uncomfortable (understandably) with not knowing what to say or do. When I said to this student that it is OK if she preferred to take on a different patient, she asked if she could still be involved. This student was right by my side that day, comforting family and getting the patient whatever was needed without a moment's hesitation. And when the patient's daughter asked if we could help her paint her mom's nails, this student jumped in and began to help the daughter. I think it was the daughter's way of saying goodbye to her mom, and this student shared that moment with her with a respectful, compassionate attitude. I cannot express enough of my gratitude to this student for treating our patients and their families with respect and just straight-up kindness.