Recently, Palliative Medicine was consulted on a patient in the CCU. Laura was the patient's nurse. There had been some issues with the patient's daughter. The patient very much wanted to go to hospice and the daughter was not ready. One hospice spent over 45 minutes on the phone with the daughter and the daughter stated she did not understand the reason for the call. I spent a lot of time with the daughter on the phone explaining hospice and the patient's needs. Laura and I spent a fair amount of time discussing the situation which was very frustrating. The patient was quite capable of making her own decisions, she just wanted us to keep her daughter in the loop. Laura's conversation with the patient helped her to understand why we were encouraging her to meet with hospice sooner than later. The patient agreed. Later the next day, with Laura's involvement, the patient was able to begin hospice and was made comfortable very quickly. This would not have happened without Laura.
This same day, Laura was also precepting a student. The amount of time, knowledge and insight she shared with the student will help her as she pursues her nursing career.
This is not the first time I have witnessed Laura take the time to help a patient understand a difficult situation. One particular patient has been in several times with respiratory distress and Laura was instrumental in setting up family meetings and helping the patient to understand the seriousness of her condition and situation. The patient is inend-stage respiratory failure and considered terminal. Laura's intervention helped the patient in agreeing to change her code status, as resuscitation would have been futile.
As Patient Safety Liaison, late last year, Laura witnessed an incident that led to the completion of a NETS report. She talked me through the process as I had never done one before. The next week, I shared with Laura the negative feedback I received because of the NETS. I was not aware that Laura, on my behalf, informed administration of the incident. Her actions resulted in a positive outcome which made a difference for me personally.
I feel Laura Wilson is extraordinary and a true DAISY Nurse.