May 2018
Sarah
Lemmer
,
RN
Green Bay Clinic Surgery Center
Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center
Milwaukee
,
WI
United States
Sarah Beth Lemmer is a perioperative Registered Nurse in the surgery department of the Green Bay VA Healthcare Center. She admitted a veteran for a routine cataracts surgery and assessed that he was short of breath with audible wheezing during activity. She collaborated with the anesthesia provider to treat the root cause of the shortness of breath with a nebulizer treatment and the veteran proceeded to have successful cataract surgery. By any measure, Sarah Beth did her job as a perioperative nurse to assess and treat the shortness of breath leading to a successful outcome, but Sarah Beth did not stop there and further assessed that none of his 33 medical diagnoses nor 26 medications prescribed were related to the patient's objective symptom of wheezing. The veteran described his condition as worsening in the past four months. Upon a detailed chart review, Sarah Beth noted that the pulmonary function test from four months prior was never reviewed with the patient and the patient had previously been prescribed pulmonary medications in 2014 but the prescription had not been filled since February of 2015. Sarah Beth utilized both subjective and objective data from her nursing easement to immediately communicate the pertinent findings to the interdisciplinary medical team including anesthesia, primary care, cardiology, and pulmonology. Within 24 hours of Sarah Beth alerting the interdisciplinary team, the veteran had been notified of his diagnoses of COPD, three different rehabilitations were ordered, and filled to treat his COPD, home oxygen therapy was ordered, pulmonary rehabilitation was ordered, and repeat pulmonary function testing was ordered. The veteran was incredibly grateful for the treatments. Sarah Beth has characteristics of an Extraordinary Nurse by using her clinical knowledge to collaborate, communicate, and lead the entire interdisciplinary team to a successful outcome.