Patricia Sloan, LVN is a shining star in the PACT. Ms. Sloan was not even the LVN assigned to our GRECC Clinic, but noting that the LVN assigned to our clinic was falling behind, she quickly jumped in to room the Vet with his family. As the clinic visit progressed, it was evident that the Vet would need to be catheterized, with the team vacillating between indwelling and straight catheter options. She provided all the equipment and stayed to assist me with the catheterization. She was a calming presence to the Vet, always reassuring him. She assisted the fellow and me with the entire process including helping the Vet get his clothing adjusted with the catheter bag. As I assisted Vet to a sitting position with Patricia's help, the Vet admitted to being a bit dizzy. BP was taken and the Vet was extremely hypertensive. As we were making arrangements to take him to ER, Patricia quickly called the ER and gave report to the RN.
Despite this being close to 6:00 pm, she transported the Veteran and his family to the ER to be certain of a quick handoff and to explain to the ER staff the necessity of expeditious treatment due to hypertensive crisis. She provided calm reassurance for the family members. After that, she returned to building 5 clinic to document the transfer and handoff. Then she actually thought to thank the GRECC team for cleaning up the exam room, when we were so thankful for her help and support with this issue. Patricia did all of this and was not even assigned to cover the GRECC clinic that day.
She is consistently very positive, always smiling, the Veterans and families often comment on what a joy it is to see Patricia. As I was speaking to the GRECC Interdisciplinary Team about Patricia, the resident in our clinic that day also spoke up and said that Patricia is a wonderful LVN. She noted that Patricia takes the initiative to get EKGs proactively and uses critical thinking to maximize the entire visit for the Veteran and helping the resident.