I am a fellow nurse but was recently a patient at WBH when I delivered my first child. Being on the other side of patient care was very foreign and new to me. I was nervous and scared, almost to the point of tears, about going home. I felt like breast feeding wasn't going well and I just wasn't getting the hang of it. My family and friends were excited the doctors gave me the option to go home a day earlier than planned and I pretended I was excited too. I didn't want to tell them I wasn't ready to go home. I was an anxious mess on the inside. How would I know if she was getting enough milk? What do I do if she seems hungry? Why is it so painful? Who do I ask when no one is around?
Tiffany came in the room and sat down beside me. She asked me to show her what I was doing and told me what I was doing wrong without being condescending. She encouraged me to learn my baby's cues and made sure I knew how to respond by demonstrating it back to her. She gave me all the time I needed and never made me feel rushed or feel like she needed to get to another patient. She listened to my concerns, answered all of my questions, and assured me she would only be a phone call away after discharge.
She was so caring and compassionate. She made me feel calm and empowered during a time when I was overloaded with unbalanced hormones and an abundance of new information. Often times we tend to think that other nurses don't need much education. She treated me like a patient, which was what I needed, in a specialty I knew nothing about.
When she left my room I finally felt comfortable going home and was agreeable to be discharged. I thanked her wholeheartedly when she left the room. To her it may have been just another day on the job. To me, it meant the world.