Tara Otterson
January 2023
Tara
Otterson
,
BSN, RNC-NIC, CBC
Enteral Access Team
Children's Mercy Kansas City
Kansas City
,
MO
United States
It helps so much knowing that Tara is there caring for him when we can't be there.
My son has been in the hospital since he was born. We had no idea he had any problems until 24 hours after he was born. He arrived at Children's Mercy when he was four days old. He has multiple congenital defects and had a very long hospital stay ahead of him. As one can imagine, this has been extremely hard for our family. We live hours away from the hospital and have other young children. Our visits with our son have never been as often as we would like. One special person has made our hard situation a little bit easier, Tara, one of my son's primary nurses. She has been caring for him for months.
Tara has made me feel so comfortable with his overall care. She knows what he likes and doesn't like. She goes above and beyond to advocate for him. She watches his clinical signs closely and can tell before anyone else when something is wrong or when he is not feeling well. It helps so much knowing that Tara is there caring for him when we can't be there. If I know Tara is working, it gives me peace of mind and I truly and totally have 100% confidence that he is getting the absolute best care possible. When she gives me updates, she tells me more than just the clinical information. She tells me little things like if he got a new tooth, that he likes to kick his toy piano in bed, that he rolled over, or smiled because he really liked a toy. These types of things help remind me that while he has been in the hospital his entire life, he is still developing and getting to do things that I would be noticing if he were home, things I may have never known if Tara had not shared them with me.
Tara's clinical knowledge is apparent in her excellent care of our son. She is always aware of his labs, and vital signs and knowledgeable about his medications. She always answers my questions or will find the answer. When presented with the situation of having a child in the hospital for almost the entire first year of his life, having a nurse like Tara can make things a little brighter and relieve some stress and worry. I will forever be grateful for Tara and I will never forget the positive experiences she brought to me during such a challenging time.
Tara has made me feel so comfortable with his overall care. She knows what he likes and doesn't like. She goes above and beyond to advocate for him. She watches his clinical signs closely and can tell before anyone else when something is wrong or when he is not feeling well. It helps so much knowing that Tara is there caring for him when we can't be there. If I know Tara is working, it gives me peace of mind and I truly and totally have 100% confidence that he is getting the absolute best care possible. When she gives me updates, she tells me more than just the clinical information. She tells me little things like if he got a new tooth, that he likes to kick his toy piano in bed, that he rolled over, or smiled because he really liked a toy. These types of things help remind me that while he has been in the hospital his entire life, he is still developing and getting to do things that I would be noticing if he were home, things I may have never known if Tara had not shared them with me.
Tara's clinical knowledge is apparent in her excellent care of our son. She is always aware of his labs, and vital signs and knowledgeable about his medications. She always answers my questions or will find the answer. When presented with the situation of having a child in the hospital for almost the entire first year of his life, having a nurse like Tara can make things a little brighter and relieve some stress and worry. I will forever be grateful for Tara and I will never forget the positive experiences she brought to me during such a challenging time.