May 2024
Sydni
Samsa
,
RN
Emergency Department
The University of Cincinnati Medical Center
Cincinnati
,
OH
United States
Both Sydni and M were obviously touched by this experience, and it shows the immense amount of empathy they both have and their willingness to go above and beyond for their patients and the families.
Sydni is a preceptor in the emergency department and, on this night, was precepting M. They had a patient who had received a terminal diagnosis that was unexpected for both the patient and the family. The patient was admitted but was boarded in the emergency room. There were plans for her to go home with hospice, but those plans had not been completed on this night.
The patient was in their care for the 7p-7a shift, and they had family at the bedside much of the night. M went into the room and noticed that the patient was not responding and had a distinct change in her mental status. She called Sydni to the bedside and called the medical team in charge of her care. When they did not get a response from the team, they called the charge nurse, who came to the bedside to assist. A rapid response was sent out, and you could see that both M and Sydni were very concerned about their patient. The patient was already a DNRCC-A, and as the minutes passed, the patient started to have declining blood pressure and dysrhythmias.
The team came to the bedside, and the medical plan started to unfold; Sydni and M, along with the team, were all concerned with the medical course that should be taken, and it was decided that they would call the family to find out their wishes with this change in condition. The family decided they did not want any further testing or intervention and that they should just ensure she was comfortable. It was now a change of shift, and Sydni and M were going to give a report to the oncoming nurse. They both decided that they wanted to stay and be with the patient at least until the family got there or the patient passed, as it was an obvious inevitability, and neither of them wanted the patient to be alone. They gave reports on their other patients, and then both went and sat on either side of the patient and held her hand.
As they sat there, they looked up her birthday and calculated when she was in her 20s and played music from the era in order to hopefully provide comfort to her as she passed. They sat with her until she passed and then also stayed until the family arrived to provide assurance that their family member received the best care and that she was not alone. Both Sydni and M were obviously touched by this experience, and it shows the immense amount of empathy they both have and their willingness to go above and beyond for their patients and the families.
The patient was in their care for the 7p-7a shift, and they had family at the bedside much of the night. M went into the room and noticed that the patient was not responding and had a distinct change in her mental status. She called Sydni to the bedside and called the medical team in charge of her care. When they did not get a response from the team, they called the charge nurse, who came to the bedside to assist. A rapid response was sent out, and you could see that both M and Sydni were very concerned about their patient. The patient was already a DNRCC-A, and as the minutes passed, the patient started to have declining blood pressure and dysrhythmias.
The team came to the bedside, and the medical plan started to unfold; Sydni and M, along with the team, were all concerned with the medical course that should be taken, and it was decided that they would call the family to find out their wishes with this change in condition. The family decided they did not want any further testing or intervention and that they should just ensure she was comfortable. It was now a change of shift, and Sydni and M were going to give a report to the oncoming nurse. They both decided that they wanted to stay and be with the patient at least until the family got there or the patient passed, as it was an obvious inevitability, and neither of them wanted the patient to be alone. They gave reports on their other patients, and then both went and sat on either side of the patient and held her hand.
As they sat there, they looked up her birthday and calculated when she was in her 20s and played music from the era in order to hopefully provide comfort to her as she passed. They sat with her until she passed and then also stayed until the family arrived to provide assurance that their family member received the best care and that she was not alone. Both Sydni and M were obviously touched by this experience, and it shows the immense amount of empathy they both have and their willingness to go above and beyond for their patients and the families.