Capt Chandler was approached at the Family Medicine Residency Clinic by a female flyer patient requesting the removal of her implanted birth control. There were no bookable appointments left for that day. When Capt Chandler told the patient this, she started crying. He pulled her aside, calmed her down, and asked more questions. The patient confided in him that she had never been on birth control before, received an implant two months ago, and within two weeks had started to experience mood swings, crying spells, and feeling “out of control.” She said she had decided to give it more time to adjust, but her negative feelings had only gotten worse. She expressed that even though nothing else had changed in her life and she had healthy personal relationships, she had been crying inconsolably and felt like she couldn’t take it anymore and wanted the device removed. Captain Chandler could have dismissed her, but he didn’t. He walked over to the Flight Medicine Clinic (patient’s PCM), and even though the clinic was closed, he enlisted me, the flight medicine nurse, to help with this female patient. We were able to counsel the patient, consent her, remove her implant, as was her desire, and escort her to the mental health clinic for further help. The patient seemed so relieved, maybe not from her negative feelings just yet, but because someone believed her. She said, “I am so grateful that you believed me; I know I sound crazy, but I just didn’t know what to do.”

Despite the non-conventional situation and solution, Capt Chandler used empathy, compassion, and keen nursing instincts to go above and beyond to help a patient who was not even his. Thank you, Capt Chandler!