Each month, I sit in one of the chairs in the back of Senate - and I find myself looking forward to the discussion questions - especially when it's Lynette's turn! Every month - Lynette shows us the power of storytelling - she tells us stories about her creativity and her absolute mastery of the art of nursing. The first month that I was blown away by Lynette, she shared this story (and please forgive any inaccuracies - I'm working from memory):

A young patient was quickly devolving psychologically. She could articulate how out of control she felt, but couldn't stop the spiral downward. The girl's mother was watching near the bed - but could do nothing to help her daughter. Lynette called in reinforcements (BHRRT) - and in the meantime, she decided that her best course of action was to go "all in" - to climb into this girl's bed and embrace her tightly - to give the patient something physical to cling to. This action, while not necessarily textbook, was exactly the thing the patient needed and was 100% the right thing to do. The patient needed to be transferred to the ICU so that she could be sedated while they treated the cause of her issues. Lynette recognized the issues that this transfer could bring - and ordered the staff to clear the hallway of all guests and close patient room doors, to help this patient maintain the last bit of dignity that she could. She did not want this to become a show, to allow this girl to be gawked at and pitied. Lynette protected her physical health as well as her mental health. No one would've been in the wrong to just get the patient to the ICU as quickly as possible - but the extra steps that Lynette took stuck with this patient. Days later, when out of the ICU and on a completely different unit - the patient was still talking about Lynette and how she made her feel, what she had done for her. I am in awe.

This month, she shared another gem:

Lynette came onto the shift, and found out that she had been assigned a patient who had proven himself to be quite a difficult patient. He was refusing cares, yelling, and just being generally disagreeable. Lynette organized her morning so that she would assess this patient last - so that she could concentrate solely on him when she entered the room. Prior to heading in, Lynette handed off her phone, arranged for her patients to be watched by other nurses and steadied herself. Lynette walked in, introduced herself, and pulled up a chair next to her patient. He barely acknowledged her presence. She focused her eyes on the TV - just like him. After a few minutes, he started glancing in her direction a few minutes a later, a "hmph" came out of him and 12 long minutes later, he finally broke! Realizing she could be just as stubborn as him (that magical combination of German and Norwegian), he asked what she wanted. After talking a little, he finally admitted that he had a bit of a headache and suspected that his blood pressure was up. He allowed her to take a blood pressure and took his medication. He started to build trust in Lynette and confided his frustrations in her. By the end of the day, he was no longer yelling, etc - and was actually thanking people for their care. All because she set aside the busyness of her day and took the time to show him that she was, again, "all in".

If I ever have to be hospitalized, I pray that, if I can't have Lynette as my nurse, I at least get someone who believes in the power of connection - like she does. As these stories demonstrate Lynette is an "extraordinary" nurse and is very deserving of this award.