Sydney Fisher
March 2019
Sydney
Fisher
,
RN
Cardiac Telemetry
Tampa General Hospital
Tampa
,
FL
United States
I am writing this letter to express my appreciation for the outstanding performance of one of your nurses, Sydney Fisher. My husband was admitted to the hospital and one of his complaints was extreme pain and swelling in his left leg. Test and exams were done however, the condition remained unsolved. He was written for discharge on Saturday. Sydney was his nurse on Saturday and observed his left leg, she immediately suspected that he might be experiencing a gout episode. She was 100% correct. She intervened quickly and her keen observation and attentiveness to my husband resulted in treatment that changed the course of his recovery. I will forever be grateful for her knowledge, skills, and her thoroughness in his patient care.
***
I wanted to add to the events, as Sydney made a real difference during treatment that this patient ended up with, and even a difference in the quality of life as Mrs. D voiced to me during my rounds with her. When I spoke with Mrs. D she told me the whole story. Mr. D was active around the house and for about a week he was having so much pain it immobilized him to a point he would not get out of bed. When he was admitted to the hospital, he could hardly move due to the pain and had been bedded for a couple of days. As the letter says the MDs treated the patient but they couldn't find the cause of the pain, they were planning to send the patient to a SNF. The wife was devasted about the fact that she was not going to be able to take him home, but also knew she couldn't care for him as his mobility was very limited, he was only able to help turn himself in bed with 2 assists. Then on Saturday, Sydney was assigned to be his nurse for the day. She assessed him, went into a detailed history with his wife and then adamantly asked the physician for an x-ray and a uric acid. The physician needed a couple of phone calls from Sydney and a firm, "we need you to come asses this patient". Sydney explained that she thought the patient was having a severe gout episode. The MD came to assess the patient, ordered the test and later that day diagnosed a gout episode. The patient was then scheduled for an aspiration procedure of the knee. On Monday the patient was sitting in the recliner eating breakfast and his treatment changed from a SNF to a rehab. His wife was so happy and excited that at the end of his treatment he was going to be able to go home, and she saw that he was getting relief from his pain.
Sydney used all her assessment skills and advocated for this patient so much that it changed his course of treatment. We are lucky to have such caring and knowledgeable nurses on our team!
***
I wanted to add to the events, as Sydney made a real difference during treatment that this patient ended up with, and even a difference in the quality of life as Mrs. D voiced to me during my rounds with her. When I spoke with Mrs. D she told me the whole story. Mr. D was active around the house and for about a week he was having so much pain it immobilized him to a point he would not get out of bed. When he was admitted to the hospital, he could hardly move due to the pain and had been bedded for a couple of days. As the letter says the MDs treated the patient but they couldn't find the cause of the pain, they were planning to send the patient to a SNF. The wife was devasted about the fact that she was not going to be able to take him home, but also knew she couldn't care for him as his mobility was very limited, he was only able to help turn himself in bed with 2 assists. Then on Saturday, Sydney was assigned to be his nurse for the day. She assessed him, went into a detailed history with his wife and then adamantly asked the physician for an x-ray and a uric acid. The physician needed a couple of phone calls from Sydney and a firm, "we need you to come asses this patient". Sydney explained that she thought the patient was having a severe gout episode. The MD came to assess the patient, ordered the test and later that day diagnosed a gout episode. The patient was then scheduled for an aspiration procedure of the knee. On Monday the patient was sitting in the recliner eating breakfast and his treatment changed from a SNF to a rehab. His wife was so happy and excited that at the end of his treatment he was going to be able to go home, and she saw that he was getting relief from his pain.
Sydney used all her assessment skills and advocated for this patient so much that it changed his course of treatment. We are lucky to have such caring and knowledgeable nurses on our team!