Shanda Tomlin
November 2014
Shanda
Tomlin
,
BSN, RN
Medical/Surgical Intensive Care Unit
Trinity Mother Frances Hospitals and Clinics
Tyler
,
TX
United States
This nomination has been overdue for quite some time now, but a recent event convinced me to express my feelings about Shanda. She works with me at Trinity Mother Frances. She became so much more to me than just a role model. She always showed the most compassion possible to any patient. I have seen her chat away with a pleasant elderly man, provide encouragement to a patient who had personal emotional issues to deal with, support a dying mother so she can see her child one last time, and run to the rescue of a dementia stricken woman only to get slapped in the face, yet, Shanda continued to provide excellent care. These and many more stories have caught my heart, but none as much as a patient she recently cared for. This patient's condition was critical, but his true saving grace was this nurse.
It was a night like any other night until a cardiac monitor dinged and the telephone ringed simultaneously. One nurse when to check on the patient while another answered the telephone. The next sounds heard were a call for help and the thud of running feet to the room. The patient was in a lethal cardiac rhythm and was unresponsive. The team quickly worked together and delivered a shock with the defibrillator, he awoke and looked right at all of the nurses that had recently filled his room. He had a look of surprise that was obvious he had no memory of the recent moments. This routine marched out six more times in the course of the night, all with different variations but ending in the same result, the man awaking with a look of such fear it would bring any nurse to tears. In an effort to calm his nerves, Shanda even let him borrow her personal iPad to watch his favorite show. While trying to calm his nerves, she called doctor after doctor to find a treatment that would help this man, suggesting different medications and interventions. She never gave up being a patient advocate! She ended up calling multiple physicians during the night to ensure the best care was provided.
Shandra seems to always have the sickest patients on the unit, and by the time they get better, they don't remember her time and hard work spent. So I wanted to take the opportunity to let others know about the compassion Shanda puts into patients every day even if they are too sick to remember it.
...
My father had surgery at Trinity Mother Frances. He developed serious life threatening complications after surgery and was transferred to a higher level of care. He eventually died. Despite our sadness at the death of our father, the entire family felt so fortunate to have received the care from Shanda. Nursing must truly be her passion. We have never seen anyone show the love and care that she did - both to our father, the patient, and the entire family. She almost never left my dad's side. Shanda was truly a blessing!
...
Shanda was one of the first Nurses that cared for my husband. He was in Trinity Mother Frances for a 24 day stay. She went above and beyond her call of duty not only by constantly talking and communicating with us every step of every procedure but she stayed 2 hours past her shift end to ensure she did everything possible to stabilize him before she left. Not only did she tend to his medical needs but to his needs by nurturing him as if he were her own family member. I am truly grateful to everything that she did that first night to ensure that he would survive. Shanda truly was part of the miracle that happened on that night and my family thanks her for having such a big heart.
...
While my mother was in Intensive Care I stayed all day and went home at night. The only way that I could do that was in knowing that Shanda was in charge of her care. When mom's condition seemed to change early in the morning, Shanda called me and stayed with my mother until I could get there. She is caring, compassionate and a great nurse. I leave every day confident of mom's care. Shanda is a big part of that.
...
As a new nurse to the unit, Shanda went out of her way to make sure I was not only learning how to take care of patients, but how to cope with critical situations. Even if Shanda was not in the same unit as I was, she came to check on me at different times. I was never afraid to ask her for help or ask her any question. When she was swamped and behind on paperwork due to her own patient assignment she always took time to answer my concerns or questions. I will forever be grateful to Shanda for making me feel like a full team member even during my orientation.
...
Shanda provided excellent compassionate care of our family member in the aftermath of a serious car accident. She gave explanations of medical procedure and expectations in a way the patient and family could understand.
...
Shanda is compassionate, gracious, understanding, and a good listener.
It was a night like any other night until a cardiac monitor dinged and the telephone ringed simultaneously. One nurse when to check on the patient while another answered the telephone. The next sounds heard were a call for help and the thud of running feet to the room. The patient was in a lethal cardiac rhythm and was unresponsive. The team quickly worked together and delivered a shock with the defibrillator, he awoke and looked right at all of the nurses that had recently filled his room. He had a look of surprise that was obvious he had no memory of the recent moments. This routine marched out six more times in the course of the night, all with different variations but ending in the same result, the man awaking with a look of such fear it would bring any nurse to tears. In an effort to calm his nerves, Shanda even let him borrow her personal iPad to watch his favorite show. While trying to calm his nerves, she called doctor after doctor to find a treatment that would help this man, suggesting different medications and interventions. She never gave up being a patient advocate! She ended up calling multiple physicians during the night to ensure the best care was provided.
Shandra seems to always have the sickest patients on the unit, and by the time they get better, they don't remember her time and hard work spent. So I wanted to take the opportunity to let others know about the compassion Shanda puts into patients every day even if they are too sick to remember it.
...
My father had surgery at Trinity Mother Frances. He developed serious life threatening complications after surgery and was transferred to a higher level of care. He eventually died. Despite our sadness at the death of our father, the entire family felt so fortunate to have received the care from Shanda. Nursing must truly be her passion. We have never seen anyone show the love and care that she did - both to our father, the patient, and the entire family. She almost never left my dad's side. Shanda was truly a blessing!
...
Shanda was one of the first Nurses that cared for my husband. He was in Trinity Mother Frances for a 24 day stay. She went above and beyond her call of duty not only by constantly talking and communicating with us every step of every procedure but she stayed 2 hours past her shift end to ensure she did everything possible to stabilize him before she left. Not only did she tend to his medical needs but to his needs by nurturing him as if he were her own family member. I am truly grateful to everything that she did that first night to ensure that he would survive. Shanda truly was part of the miracle that happened on that night and my family thanks her for having such a big heart.
...
While my mother was in Intensive Care I stayed all day and went home at night. The only way that I could do that was in knowing that Shanda was in charge of her care. When mom's condition seemed to change early in the morning, Shanda called me and stayed with my mother until I could get there. She is caring, compassionate and a great nurse. I leave every day confident of mom's care. Shanda is a big part of that.
...
As a new nurse to the unit, Shanda went out of her way to make sure I was not only learning how to take care of patients, but how to cope with critical situations. Even if Shanda was not in the same unit as I was, she came to check on me at different times. I was never afraid to ask her for help or ask her any question. When she was swamped and behind on paperwork due to her own patient assignment she always took time to answer my concerns or questions. I will forever be grateful to Shanda for making me feel like a full team member even during my orientation.
...
Shanda provided excellent compassionate care of our family member in the aftermath of a serious car accident. She gave explanations of medical procedure and expectations in a way the patient and family could understand.
...
Shanda is compassionate, gracious, understanding, and a good listener.