Tiffany Nino
June 2024
Tiffany
Nino
,
MSN, RN
Cardiac ICCU
UMC Health System
Lubbock
,
TX
United States

 

 

 

Without Tiffany's diligence, there would have been no communication to the family and no one to advocate for this patient.
I wanted to nominate Tiffany for her efforts to advocate for her patient as well as her compassion. A patient with developmental delays came in and was in an accident following the recent death of her caregivers. Tiffany was immediately moved by her story and worked to give her the best care, from ensuring she was comfortable to following up with resources to make sure her wound was being treated properly. The patient's surgery for her wound was delayed for 2 days, each evening when the procedure was cancelled due to scheduling Tiffany ensured she had the NPO order lifted and the patient had something to eat because she didn't understand the situation or why she wasn't allowed to eat. Tiffany helped keep her calm and helped to get her food before she left each night. On the 3rd day the procedure was again delayed and Tiffany reached out to management for direction on how to help the patient, she was frustrated and knew the patient could not advocate for herself and her remaining family lived out of town. Communicating with the providers and expressing concern for the deteriorating wound, the patient was finally taken to surgery that afternoon. Shift change came and Tiffany was concerned because the patient was in PACU but the family had received no updates. Tiffany memorized the family member's number who had driven from out of town to check on the patient after her surgery. When she also received no update from PACU, Tiffany again reached out to leadership after her shift because she wanted to ensure the family was notified of her progress as the patient was unable to communicate updates or make decisions about her care. The night shift nurse was able to get an update after follow up with the PACU and give the family peace of mind before their drive home that night. Tiffany came up to the unit the next day after a training she attended to visit and comfort the patient and even get her chicken strips. Without Tiffany's diligence, there would have been no communication to the family and no one to advocate for this patient. Tiffany was compassionate and, beyond that, stood up for a patient who really had no one following traumatic changes in her life. Tiffany truly cares about her patients and makes a difference with her care.