Earlier this week a 16 year old well-known, complicated, and challenging former trauma patient was admitted to the Peds Service, 9A with abdominal pain. Ped Surg/Trauma was consulted and recommended an Upper GI/Small Bowel Follow Through. In Fluoroscopy, the patient seized and was admitted to the PICU. Part of the post-seizure evaluation revealed that he had previously attempted to hang himself and he was placed on suicide precautions. Later that evening he was ready to transfer out of the PICU and the plan from staffing was to send him back to 9A. Susan called me to ask if I agreed he should be sent to 6A as she thought it would be much better for him to be with staff that he knew, especially given all that was going on with him.

The reason I feel this exemplifies the kind of nurse that patients and families recognize as an outstanding role model is that this patient can sometimes be needy, and he has a difficult social situation. By advocating for this patient to come to 6A, Susan was absolutely doing the right thing for the patient knowing that having him on 6A was likely to be trying for the staff at times. I greatly admire her for this. This is an example of Susan's diligent patient care and an example of the "super-human work" she does every day.