Katherine Fernandez
August 2020
Katherine
Fernandez
,
RN, BSN
5N - Telemetry
Hackensack Meridian Health - JFK University Medical Center
Edison
,
NJ
United States
I remember when the "sky fell on 5North". It was a typical change-of shift at 7 PM when one of the team members heard a drip coming from the ceiling in from of the patient's room. Then we realized that there was a leak coming from the roof of the building. All of a sudden water came dripping, more like gushing from multiple areas of the ceiling. The team worked together to contain the water. Katherine instructed the team to cover the computers with plastic and then unplug them to prevent damage. We checked all the patients' rooms and other areas to make sure everyone was safe. Water was also dripping in the clean utility room and we were able to contain the water and save the supplies in it.
We found out that the remote telemetry monitors were not working and we had to move some of our patients to another unit. We coordinated with bed management for the transfers. Katherine had to speak to some family members visiting to allay their anxiety.
When you think nothing can go worse, Katherine noticed one of the maintenance crew was looking pale and had difficulty walking, she took a chair and made him sit. She checked his vital signs and assessed him. His BP was low and we called for a "code seven" in the old emergency language. She stayed with him and he was brought down to the ED.
The team proceeded with patient reports - it was business as usual. When the administrator on-call came up to 5North, she said she noticed the team is very calm. Katherine told her that we all worked together like a well-oiled machine. She was so proud of 5North that night. All's well that ends well.....
When the pandemic started and 5North was converted to critical care, she was the first one to pair up with a critical care nurse. Even though she had her own anxiety and fears as it was a whole new ballgame for her, she did not show that to the team. Instead, she mustered up the courage to embrace the challenge ahead of her. As it turned out, all of our nurses get to experience the same role. Our team got deployed to other units and they hardly saw each other during this "pandemic" time. Katherine shared with the team updates via text messages. Katherine makes herself available to our night shift team - even on her night off. There was one night when one of the nurses needed help with a PD machine, and she called and did a video call to help the nurse with the machine and guide her through the process.
We found out that the remote telemetry monitors were not working and we had to move some of our patients to another unit. We coordinated with bed management for the transfers. Katherine had to speak to some family members visiting to allay their anxiety.
When you think nothing can go worse, Katherine noticed one of the maintenance crew was looking pale and had difficulty walking, she took a chair and made him sit. She checked his vital signs and assessed him. His BP was low and we called for a "code seven" in the old emergency language. She stayed with him and he was brought down to the ED.
The team proceeded with patient reports - it was business as usual. When the administrator on-call came up to 5North, she said she noticed the team is very calm. Katherine told her that we all worked together like a well-oiled machine. She was so proud of 5North that night. All's well that ends well.....
When the pandemic started and 5North was converted to critical care, she was the first one to pair up with a critical care nurse. Even though she had her own anxiety and fears as it was a whole new ballgame for her, she did not show that to the team. Instead, she mustered up the courage to embrace the challenge ahead of her. As it turned out, all of our nurses get to experience the same role. Our team got deployed to other units and they hardly saw each other during this "pandemic" time. Katherine shared with the team updates via text messages. Katherine makes herself available to our night shift team - even on her night off. There was one night when one of the nurses needed help with a PD machine, and she called and did a video call to help the nurse with the machine and guide her through the process.