Karli consistently goes above and beyond for each and every patient she cares for; however, this past week we were witness to an example of exceptional care and compassion. Karli cared for a patient who had suffered a very sudden and debilitating health crisis while visiting Portland from another country. After a long and difficult hospital stay, the goal for this patient was to transfer home via an international commercial flight to return and continue care near loved ones. This patient did not speak any English, and both he and his family were fearful of the hospital environment and the possibility of medical errors. We can only imagine how scary it would be to suffer this kind of debilitating health crisis, let alone for such an event to occur in another country where you don't speak the language.
Karli worked tirelessly to ensure this patient felt safe and that he and his family could trust her care. She prioritized being present for all of his meetings with Physical Therapy to monitor and encourage his rehabilitation in preparation for his flight. Her efforts helped to expedite this patient's return to his home country and family. Karli spent every spare moment educating the family on how to mobilize the patient, helping them practice over and over until they felt confident. She anticipated challenges that could arise during this patient's long flight home and helped the family train and prepare for these possibilities.
Karli volunteered to work for seven days straight in an effort to maintain continuity of care (12-hour shifts), but never wavered in her compassion and dedication to this patient and his family. Her long work stretch ended the day before this patient was set to leave; naturally, Karli was worried about the complexity of the discharge. On her final shift with this patient she proactively reached out to another nurse that she knew would be working the following day. Together, Karli and the oncoming nurse developed a plan with the family to facilitate a smooth and complication-free discharge. Karli prepped this nurse with the patient's background and every last detail of his discharge plan so as to guarantee that he was able to board his flight on time. She also made time to introduce the patient and his family to this nurse in order to create trust and ensure a smooth transition of care.
The next day I just so happened to be working late into the morning and saw all of Karli's hard work come to fruition. The patient's discharge went seamlessly and I waved to the patient and his family as they left to catch their flight. They looked so happy and relieved. Karli helped reduce the stress, fear, and complications that this family could've experienced throughout his hospitalization; she cared for them with an incredible amount of kindness and compassion; she treated them as she would her own family. I am certain they will never forget her.
We know few nurses who would be able to work seven 12-hour shifts in a row, let alone do it with their sanity and compassion still intact at the end. As a side note - after this long, arduous week Karli expressed how much she loves her job as a nurse and how that week changed her for the better. It is a rare person who could work so tirelessly only to report that such effort had reinvigorated and reinforced their passion for "work." Her love and enthusiasm for nursing are truly inspiring and only serve as a testament that nursing is truly her calling. At times, we may forget to recognize and acknowledge how hard Karli works because we are so used to it; it's how she is with every patient, every shift, every week. Our patients are lucky to be cared for by her and our nurses are lucky to work beside her.