Abbey is always extremely busy, but the moment she has some extra time, she asks all of her colleagues - RNs, techs, and secretary if they need help with anything. I was always so excited to see Abbey on the list of nurses I would be working with that day because I knew I would be having a good day.
Whenever I try to think of how to be more caring and compassionate in my practice, I always think about how I've seen Abbey interact with her patients. They would never know how busy she is, because she always comes into the room with a smile, listens to what they need, and makes sure that it gets done one way or another.
Abbey is always the first to suggest palliative or hospice consults which I think really exemplifies her compassion and desire to put her patient's wants and needs first. Abbey took excellent care of a patient who was dying, but too unstable to be transferred to hospice. She worked very closely with physicians, palliative, and hospice nurses to make sure that the patient was comfortable throughout the entire process. She was incredibly supportive of the family during this time as well and made sure to call pastoral care for them for added support.
When a patient is dying, it is an extremely difficult time for the nurse herself as well. Abbey insisted on taking care of the patient for all three of her shifts as she wanted to follow through and provide consistency for the patient and family during such a difficult time.
Even when Abbey is being mistreated as a nurse by a patient and family, she is able to look past it and remember that they are in a difficult situation and are acting out in order to cope.
It is a general rule that a resident nurse doesn't need to join committees, but Abbey actively sits on one and helps contribute to making improvements on the floor. She helped implement evidence-based research onto the floor by working with other residents to create a better method for documenting intake/output which is extremely important and helpful for renal patients.