September 2018
Stanton
Hinson
,
BSN, RN
Travel Nurse Across America
North Little Rock
,
AR
United States
It was a manic Monday when Nurse Stanton Hinson took a report on a very restless patient. The patient had been suffering from what appeared to be severe delirium for at least 24 hours, causing the patient to become extremely restless. Stanton and supporting staff members were in and out of the room numerous times an hour in an attempt to keep the patient safe and to reassure the family at the bedside. A CT scan had been ordered the day before but the test was unable to be performed due to the patient's condition.
On this particular Monday around 6:30 in the evening, the patient began to lose consciousness, signs of delirium subsided. That's when Stanton took action, he insisted a CT scan be given to the patient.
As the official read of the scan was occurring, and the patient was being transported back up to the unit, Stanton made crucial calls to the covering service and to the Rapid Response RN, alerting them that quick action was needed. He anticipated that this patient needed to be emergently transported to another facility. The Rapid Response Team immediately initiated the Level 1 stroke protocol, and in conjunction with the covering service, neurosurgery service, and LifeLine, the patient was packed up and emergently transferred. Within the hour, the patient was in the OR, having lifesaving surgery. Three days later, the patient was recovering, thanks to Stanton's quick response.
One of his strengths is calming his patients during anxious moments. He recently had a patient who had been very ill and was not getting better. She was afraid she was dying and she kept asking if she'd ever laugh again. She wouldn't sleep because she was afraid she wouldn't wake up and she continually had panic attacks and couldn't breathe. To help her relax and breathe, Stanton asked what her favorite flower was. When she told him it was a yellow rose he told her to pretend she was smelling the rose and then blowing out a candle. He wrote it on the whiteboard in her room. Her husband said later that she kept repeating it over and over, "smell the rose; blow out the candle.'"
On this particular Monday around 6:30 in the evening, the patient began to lose consciousness, signs of delirium subsided. That's when Stanton took action, he insisted a CT scan be given to the patient.
As the official read of the scan was occurring, and the patient was being transported back up to the unit, Stanton made crucial calls to the covering service and to the Rapid Response RN, alerting them that quick action was needed. He anticipated that this patient needed to be emergently transported to another facility. The Rapid Response Team immediately initiated the Level 1 stroke protocol, and in conjunction with the covering service, neurosurgery service, and LifeLine, the patient was packed up and emergently transferred. Within the hour, the patient was in the OR, having lifesaving surgery. Three days later, the patient was recovering, thanks to Stanton's quick response.
One of his strengths is calming his patients during anxious moments. He recently had a patient who had been very ill and was not getting better. She was afraid she was dying and she kept asking if she'd ever laugh again. She wouldn't sleep because she was afraid she wouldn't wake up and she continually had panic attacks and couldn't breathe. To help her relax and breathe, Stanton asked what her favorite flower was. When she told him it was a yellow rose he told her to pretend she was smelling the rose and then blowing out a candle. He wrote it on the whiteboard in her room. Her husband said later that she kept repeating it over and over, "smell the rose; blow out the candle.'"