This situation I am about to describe comes up from time to time in our outpatient Neurology Clinic. It's not a frequent enough situation that all Medical staff know exactly what to do, or where to locate what is needed in EPIC. That's where Sydney Gilleland and her calm expertise come into play.

We had a child come into our Children's Neurology Clinic who shared suicidal ideations with the Nurse Practitioner who was seeing him for the first time. Generally, the NP or Physician reports this to Social Work who then joins the NP or Physician to complete the ASQ Suicide Screening Tool. In this particular situation, the NP had not completed an ASQ Suicide Screening tool before and was not sure where to locate it in EPIC. The NP was also talking with the parents and addressing their concerns. I immediately went to Sydney who had assisted Social Work only a week before with a similar situation. I asked Sydney if she had time to do an ASQ Suicide Screen with me. She quickly responded with a "Yes". The NP met with the family while Sydney and I met with the patient. Sydney and I introduced ourselves to the patient, she remained calm throughout. Sydney calmly asked the patient the Suicide screening questions. She put him at ease and everything went smoothly.
These situations come up quickly and unexpectedly. These are often demanding situations that no one seems to ever be totally prepared for or comfortable with. The patient comes in for one reason specific to Neurology, but suicidal ideations are present. It's not always easy for everyone to remain calm, but Sydney did. She joined me and the NP without hesitation. The NP was told Sydney had done this extremely well before with another patient and knew exactly where to locate the Questionnaire in EPIC. She stopped what she was doing, quickly handed off her duties to another Nurse so that she could devote her attention to the patient. Sydney was calm, professional, and handled the situation with aplomb. Her professionalism and her calming effect were definitely needed in this situation.
I enjoy working with Sydney She is professional, has a great attitude, and is always willing to assist others. She knows her job and does it well.