I have had the pleasure of working with Rachel Pozzatti on 4B for over 2 years. Her dedication to personalized and individualized care has always been inspiring, and this particular situation makes me appreciate nurses like her. For several weeks, we had a patient that was assessed as "nonverbal". It was discussed that he could not communicate. It had also been documented by the sending unit that he was unable to be assessed and could not make his needs known.
Over the course of several days, Rachel began to observe the patient's movements and actions when ADL's were performed. She realized that he was gesturing and shaking his head in protest or agreement. She then began asking him a series of yes and no questions to confirm her theory. It worked! The patient, while verbally unable to speak, had several ways of communicating. He could shake his head, yes or no, and lift an arm to convey requests. Rachel, who became his Primary Nurse, was assigned to the patient for several weeks after this discovery and she continually discovered new information about the patient and set out to accommodate his requests, all while taking care of 4 other patients!
Rachel called the patient's group home and was able to get his motorized chair sent over so that he could be mobile. After the chair was delivered and stopped working, Rachel communicated with the patient and learned that it was battery operated and needed the battery charging cable. Rachel was again on the phone in touch with the facility and had the charging cable delivered. The patient was back in business, rolling around the unit.
Rachel also brought several elements "of home" for the patient to make his stay more comfortable: better tasting liquid thickener, extra blankets, raised buttons to better control the call bell, etc. She discovered the patient's love for ice cream which helped his medicine go down much easier considering his impaired swallowing function. Several other nurses attempted to replicate tips given to them by Rachel and, while the patient received excellent care when Rachel was off, the patient's face beamed when "his" nurse was back at work. They had a true relationship and Rachel was consistently dedicated to the patient's safety and wellbeing, while overcoming a challenging communication barrier.
The night before the patient's discharge, Rachel learned that one of the receiving facility nurses would be coming to the unit to learn how to best hydrate and feed the patient after discharge. Rachel documented all her tips, knowledge, and wisdom into a folder to help facilitate the continuity of care for the patient. She then went back over the preference sheet with the patient for accuracy. The patient lit up with excitement to know that someone cared so much about his communication needs that they documented them for the following facility to use.
The above example is just one of many that illustrates how Rachel shows her dedication and exemplifies compassionate care. She demonstrates patience and a sense of honest caregiving when she accepts an assignment. She does everything in her power to provide high quality care to all her patients during her shift. To ensure that a patient is well taken care of even after his discharge from the hospital shows that her connection extends past the hospital and she truly has the patient's wellbeing and best interest at heart. Rachel has truly embraced the term "Cura Personalis".