Yesterday's shift was a somewhat difficult day. A child on heated high flow oxygen at 8L of flow for several hours, a sick complex cardiac patient, a death in the ED, and absolutely no ICU beds available made for a stressful day.
Social work, the chaplain, respiratory care practitioners, clinical technicians, pharmacists, nursing, and all the ancillary staff just did a fabulous job in making things better.
Lindsay, who was the charge nurse for this shift, continues to play a major role in ensuring that the emergency department remains efficient. Even more importantly, she still manages to keep the mood positive and strengthens everyone's morale during these significant moments of stress.
Her communication with the attending staff and all other providers is outstanding; she anticipates my questions and concerns before I have even voiced them. She had called the CVICU OTL as soon as she knew that cardiac patient was coming, to check on bed availability and reserve a spot so that we would be first in line if there wasn't one ready.She is proactive with problems before they even come to my attention, usually solving them when she is able.
Lindsay is a valuable resource. If she doesn't know the answer to my question, she will find out who does and then disseminate that information to all who might be impacted by it. I truly appreciate the job she is doing in this relatively new role for her. She is a perfect example of the synergism that results from great collaboration and the team approach to care from emergency services.