I almost forgot to give credit where it was due. A few shifts back, we had a 16 year who was on the fast track. He came in complaining of abdomen pain. He had sustained a GSW and had a full abdomen mid-incision from surgery roughly a month prior. The mother of the gentleman was hard to deal with, and the provider had planned on discharging the patient with minimum completed.
Sheila advocated for the patient to the attending doctor, recommending the patient to have a CT scan. She recommended that Dr. J speak to the patient's mother with attempts to calm her and convince her to stay for further testing. Dr. J was able to speak with the mother at which she agreed to stay and perform further testing.
The patient had an obstructed small intestine and many other issues going on which were revealed on the CT. We transferred him to our downtown campus to go straight to surgery. Patient advocacy is one of our nursing duties, and Sheila went above and beyond to ensure this patient had the care that was needed.