Stephanie demonstrates a positive, caring attitude towards her patients on a daily basis. Recently, a situation arose that exemplified this quality. Stephanie was working in labor and delivery triage when she received a patient from another facility who was 40 weeks pregnant and sent to us by EMS for no fetal movement and contractions. This patient did not have an established obstetrician here, so there was immediate attention and assessment needed. The patient ended up delivering within 10 minutes of walking thru our doors. Stephanie had no choice but to deliver the baby. The baby came out lifeless. A code was then pursued with NICU and Stephanie’s fellow labor nurses assisting and working as a well coordinated team. This situation was particularly exceptional due to the patient arriving and delivering within 10 minutes.
Nurses do have to deal with fetal demises and precipitous deliveries but never at the same time in this manner. Stephanie continued to care for the patient giving emotional support as well as nursing care after the delivery. As Stephanie’s shift was ending and she had passed on report to the dayshift nurse, the patient requested to get up for the first time after delivery and only wanted Stephanie to help her. Stephanie had already stayed past her time, but went in to care for this grieving mother whom she had bonded with. After all of the emotional and physical exhaustion the past few hours had caused her, Stephanie’s only thought was to make sure this mother did not suffer any more discomfort or feeling of loss by being left by the only nurse she had bonded with. The 10 minutes upon this mother’s arrival was more emotionally taxing than 12 hours of a “normal labor patient”. Yet, Stephanie, as she often does, stayed and completed caring for this mother putting the patient’s needs ahead of her own.
Isn’t that what nursing is all about? Thinking and assessing the situation quickly. Offering yourself emotionally, and then, when you’ve given all you have, doing it again.