Shelbie Parish
August 2021
Shelbie
Parish
,
BSN, RN
Med/Surg 4A
Lutheran Hospital
Fort Wayne
,
IN
United States
Shelbie left the floor and went to the gift shop where she bought the patient’s family flowers and a remembrance blanket.
Shelbie had an elderly patient that had been on our unit for a long time. The patient was declining for most of the day. Shelbie advocated for the patient vigorously, however, in the end, the patient hemorrhaged and passed away. Shelbie did not handle this at all well. This was the first patient Shelbie had lost. She spent time off the floor crying and speaking to the doctors about what she could have done better. The answer was “nothing - it was just this patient’s time to go.” Shelbie left the floor and went to the gift shop where she bought the patient’s family flowers and a remembrance blanket. She set the room up exceptionally well and covered the patient with the blanket, and waited for the family to arrive to tell them what had happened. When the wife got here, she was very touched by the flowers and explained that her husband always bought these exact purple flowers every year for their anniversary. Shelbie also spends her mornings ensuring that if she has a patient with a birthday, she gets them a birthday present. She is an exceptionally caring, compassionate nurse.