Working on this unit is physically and mentally draining. Saturday, specifically brought to us two patients on palliative care. Paula coordinated family visitation for one of the patients on palliative care which is a task unto itself. This patient would eventually pass with the family able to see the patient one last time. With another patient actively dying on the unit, the dreaded code blue announcement reverberated across the unit in the late evening. I rushed over to help only to see Paula at the center of the code doing all she could to help the staff and most importantly the patient. The patient would be resuscitated only to be coded again within 15 minutes. The second code, with Paula performing compressions, also brought the patient back. During this time Paula assisted with contacting the family to brief them on the situation and determine going forward if we were to continue to resuscitate the patient. The decision was made to make the patient comfortable and allow him to pass naturally. Shortly after starting the patient on a continuous Morphine drip, he passed peacefully. Paula once again arranged for PAPR's to be brought for the family to be able to come and say their goodbyes.
As physically draining as it is to work on 3400, the psychological toll that two deaths in one shift have on a healthcare worker can be overwhelming. Despite all this, Paula remained calm and collected. Unfortunately, Paula's work wasn't done at shift change. She took the time to review the responsibilities of the resource nurse on 3400 with an oncoming nurse that had never been in this role before. This is just one example of what Paula does from shift to shift. Paula's relentless compassion is not limited to her just her patients because she works tirelessly for her coworkers and therefore she is a true DAISY Nurse.