I always knew that Karen was amazing. She spends time with her patients. When she educates patients, she sits down with them; she looks them in the eye. She does this with every patient of hers whether it is their first baby or their 6th baby. While nurses are worried about getting their tasks done for the night, she gets to know her patients on a personal level. Before she even thinks about sitting down or having a break, she makes sure all of her patients' educational, emotional and physical needs are met. Also, she has experience that is irreplaceable. She has more knowledge than the rest of the night shift nurses combined and she is so willing and passionate to teach and share her experience.
I remember one time I had a question on a fetal demise. I called her at her house at 11pm and she was sleeping. She woke up and talked me through the process and told me to call her back at any time. Like I said, I always knew she was great. But recently, the way she handled a certain incident with her patient made me realize that she needs to be recognized for this.
It was April fool's Day. One of my best friends from home had gone into labor and throughout her pregnancy she had begged me to be there during her labor. I knew we were busy at work and I had to work that night. Something told me "Just call Karen and ask her to cover until midnight" and thank God I did. My friend had delivered around 5 and I rushed back to Hastings to relieve Karen. When I got there, the floor was swamped. Every labor room was full and almost every postpartum room was full. Karen was assigned to a patient. Karen had done her deliveries in the past and said she would stay for her delivery. This patient delivered around 10:00 that night. When the baby delivered, the baby cried on her mom's chest and the family was so excited. Quickly, this sweet baby girl took a turn for the worse. The baby was brought into the nursery. The baby had begun to have bruising throughout her body. Between the pediatrician and the family doctor who had delivered the baby, Karen had caught word that the baby was pretty sick. Because Karen had gotten to know her patient, she knew how important their faith was. She took it into her own hands to call the priest, and even though it had taken a couple of phone calls she made sure the priest arrived. While Karen's patient was still in recovery, she made sure the patient's other children were brought to the window of the nursery. Father was saying a blessing and the oldest son kept saying "I can't hear Father!"
We have a policy that no children under 14 can go into our NICU; also we didn't want the children to see the baby at this time because her condition and appearance had worsened. Karen looked at him and said "I know, but he is praying for your sister. Let's say our own prayer for her" and led the children into the prayer. After this, Karen hurried up to get the mother through recovery so she could spend time with the baby before she was transferred to Lincoln. She wheeled her into the nursery and made sure she was right up next to her baby even though there were probably 8 people surrounding the baby working on her. Also, Karen held her hand the whole time. The physicians were working with the baby so Karen escorted the patient out of the nursery and took her to a room. She then told me she just sat there and cried with her. The baby ended up passing away around 4 hours after birth. Again, Karen never left the mother's side. At one point, I walked into the mother's room to bring something in and I overheard Karen talking to them about calling their life insurance to help with the headstone/funeral. I thought to myself "how did she even think to talk to them about this?" I would have been so emotional I wouldn't have even been able to talk.
Karen can really relate and empathize with patients that go through this experience; another reason her experience is truly a blessing to not only our floor but our nurses. I always knew Karen was special.
I think Karen deserves the DAISY Award. In this specific situation Karen was this family's DAISY in the darkest moment they have probably ever been in. Not only was she their DAISY, she was mine. I was very minimally involved in the situation that night but it hit me hard emotionally. She personally called the nurses that were involved in the situation just to talk. I know this really helped me and my coworkers. The compassion Karen shares with all of her patients is something that is truly one of a kind and she shows me what it truly means to be a nurse every shift I work with her. It's not about the paperwork, the checklists, the nursing skills (don't get me wrong, these are all important), but it's about compassion and caring for your patients as if they were your own family.