Sarah McLendon
January 2025
Sarah
McLendon
,
BSN, RN
Emergency Department
Northside Hospital Gwinnett
Lawrenceville
,
GA
United States
She ensured he was getting outside, getting sun, and fresh air, and advocated for him every day, all while sitting at his bedside, playing games with him, and making him feel loved.
There’s no bigger heart than this nurse. She is well known in her department, not only to other RNs but also to physicians, PCTs, security personnel, BHAs, counselors, and patients, as the kind, sweet voice. She has a special gift when it comes to the psychiatric community. It doesn't take long for a patient to interact with her before they are instantly calm and cooperative, and receive the best care possible.
I could go on and on about stories of patients whose lives she has made infinitely better just for existing, but I will limit myself to two stories. An unfortunate truth is that sometimes people who don't have anywhere to go, however, don't require medical admission, board with us, and that was the case with this patient. He had nowhere to go and was developmentally delayed, and ended up living with us for quite a while. Every weekend, this nurse would come in with the same attitude: "I've got him". She bought him clothes so that he could feel like himself again, because he had nothing and she didn't want him in a hospital gown. She gave him a haircut like he had been begging for, because after staying with us for that long, it was in his eyes. She ensured he was getting outside, getting sun, and fresh air, and advocated for him every day, all while sitting at his bedside, playing games with him, and making him feel loved.
Another example shows that she can take care of all kinds of patients. She recently had a patient in the unit who had been there for weeks. When coming on shift, she did not appreciate the way the patient appeared or the way they were breathing, but was told by the nurse that the patient was aggressive and she just got them calm, so to let them rest. Absolutely not, she said. She immediately got the patient up, did vital signs, assessed their status, advocated for repeat lab work and workup, and found the patient to be in severe sepsis requiring ICU admission. She is good. She is kind. She is everything it means to be a nurse. We are so lucky to have her on our team and the world is a better place with her in.
I could go on and on about stories of patients whose lives she has made infinitely better just for existing, but I will limit myself to two stories. An unfortunate truth is that sometimes people who don't have anywhere to go, however, don't require medical admission, board with us, and that was the case with this patient. He had nowhere to go and was developmentally delayed, and ended up living with us for quite a while. Every weekend, this nurse would come in with the same attitude: "I've got him". She bought him clothes so that he could feel like himself again, because he had nothing and she didn't want him in a hospital gown. She gave him a haircut like he had been begging for, because after staying with us for that long, it was in his eyes. She ensured he was getting outside, getting sun, and fresh air, and advocated for him every day, all while sitting at his bedside, playing games with him, and making him feel loved.
Another example shows that she can take care of all kinds of patients. She recently had a patient in the unit who had been there for weeks. When coming on shift, she did not appreciate the way the patient appeared or the way they were breathing, but was told by the nurse that the patient was aggressive and she just got them calm, so to let them rest. Absolutely not, she said. She immediately got the patient up, did vital signs, assessed their status, advocated for repeat lab work and workup, and found the patient to be in severe sepsis requiring ICU admission. She is good. She is kind. She is everything it means to be a nurse. We are so lucky to have her on our team and the world is a better place with her in.