Patti is truly a nurse who cares deeply and advocates tremendously for her patients as well as their families. Patti took care of an 82-year-old lady who came in for uncontrolled acute pain. She was what everyone else labeled as a "drug seeker" and "very demanding" since receiving report from the emergency room. Upon admission to the unit, Patti assessed her and took her history and did further investigation and discussion with her daughter. There were no medications for pain ordered to manage her pain upon arrival to the unit. Patti immediately called the doctor who had refused to give the patient anything because she had been given something in the ED. They stated that the patient was a drug seeker and would need to be discharged within a few hours. Patti escalated the call to the next level. They returned the call and stated the same as above but provide the patient with Tylenol PO, which Patti had given the patient. The patient, now with excruciating pain, became very anxious, nauseous and hyperventilating. Advocating for the patient, Patti called an RRT. She also made sure that the daughter was around to talk to the doctors when they come. Patti never left the patient's side talking to her calmly helping her understand that allowing her body to relax would allow her pain to subside a little. With RRT on board, the patient was provided with appropriate medication for pain, blood gases, x-rays and EKG. The attending physician was then called to the bedside to speak to the daughter who explained her mother's background and convinced the medical team that her mother was really in pain. A PRN medication was put into place as well.
Patti enrolled the patient in the Integrative Medicine program for pain management and anxiety control. Further work-up noted a need for a surgical consult and the patient was transferred for surgery and then to a surgical unit. We did not hear from this patient and daughter again until a few months later. The daughter had called our manager, acknowledging Patti Kelly for the compassionate care provided to her mom during her stay on our unit. The daughter stated "my mom was a nurse in her younger years and she told me to make sure that Patti's manager knows that she is lucky to have one amazing nurse working for her. Patti was kind, soft-spoken and took the time to see me and truly address my needs when I needed it most." We are proud to work with such an amazing nurse.