Vicki was the Primary Nurse for a patient who was scheduled for surgery, on an extremely busy day. Our schedule was tight and several of the beds had to be double booked in order to accommodate all of our patients.
Her patient came to the hospital accompanied by her adult son, who has Down Syndrome, and her Aunt. When the time came for the patient to be transported to the OR, her son became very upset and tearful. He was afraid for his Mom and didn’t want her to go to the OR.
Normally, once the patient leaves for the OR, the family is directed to the Surgical Waiting Room to wait for news from the surgeon. Vicki made arrangements for his aunt to stay with him in that room until his mom’s surgery was finished and he could see her again. This required a lot of rearranging of the schedule in order to place the next patient in another room. Although Vicki was busy, she took the time to do whatever she could for him to alleviate his anxiety. She also provided him with nourishment, a comfortable chair and a reassuring hug.
Vicki is one of many nurses on our unit who shows compassionate care and excellence in nursing every day.