Paul Valentine
November 2022
Paul
Valentine
,
MSN, RN, CMSRN
Barnard 6
BayCare Morton Plant Hospital
Clearwater
,
FL
United States
The connection that Paul strives to make with each one of his patients and family members is the reason this patient felt so safe calling him.
Paul Valentine, there are many responsibilities that you carry. You are the leader of quality initiatives, a resource for patient and family support, mentoring for new nurses, and a responder to the distress signal that is sounded in times of need by the bedside nursing team. You are an expert in your field and a reliable resource for families and physicians. The shifts are challenging and never the same from shift to shift or week to week. Somewhere amid the clinical challenges encountered each shift, there is still a need for that connection to the team, the families, and the patients that they support. While these are common tasks that they can complete with ease, one encounter stands out that highlights the true impact of an APCL.
This encounter is what inspired me to nominate this nurse for a DAISY Award. Anyone that has worked with him is able to recall his expert clinical knowledge, inspiring teamwork, and positive attitude. He is creative in his support of his nurses and patient outcomes on the unit. Complex cases stimulate his interest, while simple conversation and human connection are common and natural occurrences in his personality. He rounds on his patients every day, sometimes twice a day, to ensure they are progressing as expected.
On this occasion, he discharged a patient with a simple GI issue, no complex follow-up or testing was needed. The discharge was reviewed, and all questions were answered. The discharges on this unit contain a cover page, it references key points in the discharge as well as numbers to contact the PCLs if there are further questions or needs after discharge. Several months after discharge, the patient turned to his discharge paperwork to locate this nurse’s number. The patient remembered how caring and supportive he had been during his stay. The patient called and was informing him that he was drinking a lot, feeling depressed, and feeling that he may hurt himself. This nurse knew that suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the U.S. and that this tragic preventable cause of death ravishes our community and jumped to action.
He stayed on the phone with the patient and secretly alerted a fellow team member to call 911 and get help for this patient. While he was on the phone with the patient, help arrived, and the patient was taken to a local hospital and received the care he needed to keep him safe. This extra step this nurse takes to improve patient outcomes and improve patient safety saved this gentlemen’s life. The connection that he strives to make with each one of his patients and family members is the reason this patient felt so safe calling him. His commitment to our values and being an extraordinary nurse prevented a tragic event and saved this patient's life.
This encounter is what inspired me to nominate this nurse for a DAISY Award. Anyone that has worked with him is able to recall his expert clinical knowledge, inspiring teamwork, and positive attitude. He is creative in his support of his nurses and patient outcomes on the unit. Complex cases stimulate his interest, while simple conversation and human connection are common and natural occurrences in his personality. He rounds on his patients every day, sometimes twice a day, to ensure they are progressing as expected.
On this occasion, he discharged a patient with a simple GI issue, no complex follow-up or testing was needed. The discharge was reviewed, and all questions were answered. The discharges on this unit contain a cover page, it references key points in the discharge as well as numbers to contact the PCLs if there are further questions or needs after discharge. Several months after discharge, the patient turned to his discharge paperwork to locate this nurse’s number. The patient remembered how caring and supportive he had been during his stay. The patient called and was informing him that he was drinking a lot, feeling depressed, and feeling that he may hurt himself. This nurse knew that suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the U.S. and that this tragic preventable cause of death ravishes our community and jumped to action.
He stayed on the phone with the patient and secretly alerted a fellow team member to call 911 and get help for this patient. While he was on the phone with the patient, help arrived, and the patient was taken to a local hospital and received the care he needed to keep him safe. This extra step this nurse takes to improve patient outcomes and improve patient safety saved this gentlemen’s life. The connection that he strives to make with each one of his patients and family members is the reason this patient felt so safe calling him. His commitment to our values and being an extraordinary nurse prevented a tragic event and saved this patient's life.