I would like to recognize Jessamyn for the extraordinary care she provided to a recent patient. This patient spent months on our unit recovering from a motor vehicle accident that occurred hundreds of miles away from his home in Southern California. I feel that Jessamyn modeled extraordinary compassionate and skillful care as the primary nurse for this patient.
Extended hospital stays place patients at high risk for bed sores, long-term infections, and dejected morale. But by the time this patient was discharged from our unit, he had none of that. The week of his discharge, he was finally weaned off the ventilator and given a valve that allowed him to speak. On the final night that I took care of him, we spoke briefly of the nurses he and his partner were most grateful for, and Jessamyn was on the top of their list. I learned from the patient and other staff members of the positive reinforcement she gave them and of her strong belief that he would recover, even when he didn't believe it himself at times. I believe that the hope her words gave them served as a great motivation for him to work hard at recovering. They developed a trust so great that the patient's partner wanted to schedule her flight back to SoCal to evaluate transfer facilities around Jessamyn's work schedule so that she would be there to care for him.
It was truly a team effort from all my coworkers to make it happen, but with a lot of help from Jessamyn, this patient was able to spend the holidays with his family in SoCal. The terrible fires in Southern California initially delayed his transfer, but his partner expressed she was not upset because she felt the care they received from the nurses made her trust the staff at UC Davis and our unit, East 6. I believe that as his primary nurse, Jessamyn played a large role in achieving that level of faith.
What makes Jessamyn great is that despite going above and beyond for this patient, she did not do it to receive any recognition. Jess works day-shift and I work night-shift so we don't get the chance to converse much. I know of all the great things she did through our brief passings during change of shift, observing her on the phone as I charted on the computer next to her while she prepared to go home, and listening to the grateful words of the patient and his partner. I watched as she accompanied the patient's partner to parking services after work to try and arrange a more affordable parking situation so that she could remain by his side. As I prepared to begin my shift and she ended hers, I listened as she updated the patient's parents once a week on the phone about his care and giving them verbal encouragement regarding his progress. There may be nurses who shy away from investing such compassion and time into their work, but Jessamyn is not one of them. Her actions as this patient's primary nurse embody the values and philosophy of UC Davis Health, and her courage to dive right into caring for this patient is what makes her a true DAISY Nurse.