Melanie Glenn
August 2017
Melanie
Glenn
,
ADN, RN, OCN, BMTCN
Ambulatory Oncology-Smilow Derby
Yale New Haven Hospital
New Haven
,
CT
United States

 

 

 

The image of nursing is kind, caring and attentive. We regularly win the vocation "most trusted", but there is so much more to nursing than kindness, caring, and trust. Nursing also requires attention to detail and persistence.
Mel Glenn, RN has worked in Oncology nursing for many years. She started inpatient Smilow with the Leukemia and Sickle Cell patients. As with outpatient Oncology, you see the same patients and become involved in their lives, their hopes, and often, their deaths. About 4 years ago, she transferred to outpatient oncology and came to work in the Derby office of Smilow. A specific patient that she has made a special connection with is a patient of Dr. S and Dr. N. Using her inpatient background and her outpatient dedication she has been instrumental in keeping one of our patients "alive and well". This patient has AML and shares care between Dr. S and Dr. N. Mel tirelessly draws this woman's labs three times weekly, communicating directly with Dr. S's office about her counts, her state of mind, the status of her Hickman catheter dressing, and her needs. She took it upon herself to make a referral to outpatient psych for her depression, massage therapy for her stress and ordered special dressing kits to maintain her Hickman to decrease the potential risk of CLABSI with too many people managing her central line. The patient feels supported and well cared for as she has communicated many times to staff and managers.
Mel Glenn has a significant hematology specialty. To further her specialty, she has her bone marrow transplant certification through Oncology Nursing Society. This valued knowledge allows her to be the resource for her colleagues and for most of our malignant hematology patients. She is wonderful at coordinating care with the teams at Smilow York Street campus to be sure the patient's care is seamless. She does this with coordination of labs, appointments, management of symptoms, and any oncologic or hematologic emergency the patient might encounter.
Mel has a strong skill set and is a resource for new staff and onboarding with the nursing team at Smilow Derby. She assists with many difficult and challenging psychosocial issues of patients and makes each patient feel like they are her priority, never one more than the other. She is a true DAISY Nurse.