During COVID, I had the pleasure of working with Chelsea in the ED. She is a newer nurse, but you never would have been able to tell. The moment Chelsea walked in for her shift, she was greeted by an orthopedic surgeon who needed to perform immediate closed reduction under conscious sedation at the bedside to be able to start his routine clinic on time.
Chelsea had not yet had a chance to meet the patient due to her other patients that needs immediate attention with uncontrolled blood sugar and difficulty of breathing and a patient who had stool everywhere. She took a deep breath, welcomed me to the unit, and quickly briefed me on what needed to be done. She confidently ran and got everything ready for the closed reduction procedure without showing any frustration on her face. Despite the chaos, she managed to assist the orthopedic surgeon, held the patient's hand, and tried to comfort the patient with severe pain.
Following that, Chelsea quickly ran to her other patient who was struggling to breathe and was trying to go to the bathroom without assistance and oxygen. The patient was a little bit irritated due to his condition and does not want any help from anybody. Chelsea kindly explained to the patient the importance of assisting him and letting her help him when is needed. Despite the extreme chaos surrounding her and the challenging patient load, she kept a smile on her face, stayed positive, and continued to show her compassion and kindness to her patient no matter how they treated her.
Chelsea was very kind to me and such a joy to work with. We are so lucky to have her as a member of our team and I know that each patient she cares for is in such great hands. It would have been so easy to become frustrated and irritated, but she remained focused, calm, and collected. She is a true nursing hero!