Kali Rhodes
November 2016
Kali
Rhodes
,
RN, BSN, OCN
Oncology
St. Mary's Medical Center
Grand Junction
,
CO
United States
The Starfish Story
A young man is walking along the ocean and sees a beach on which thousands and thousands of starfish have washed ashore. Further along he sees an old man, walking slowly and stooping often, picking up one starfish after another and tossing each one gently into the ocean.
Why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?, he asks.
Because the sun is up and the tide is going out and if I don't throw them further in they will die.
But, old man, don't you realize there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it! You can't possibly save them all, you can't even save one-tenth of them. In fact, even if you work all day, your efforts won't make any difference at all.
The old man listened calmly and then bent down to pick up another starfish and threw it into the sea. It made a difference to that one, he said.
Kali exemplifies the old man in the Starfish Story by making a difference one person at a time. When Kali came to me asking to use my office I knew she had something up her sleeve. After finding out one of her patients was going to be in the hospital on the day of his and his wife's 39th wedding anniversary, Kali started planning her covert operation. The celebration was to take place in my office which allowed the patient off the unit but still within arm's reach. It also afforded the couple the illusion of privacy.
The dinner was as romantic as a dinner could possibly be while in the hospital and was complete with food brought in from a favorite restaurant and included a real table cloth and real plates. The only element missing was the candles.
Sometimes in nursing you are not able to witness the positive impact or the happy outcome that your care provides. And sometime there is no happy outcome. That is very true on the Oncology Unit where seemingly more patients' condition worsens than improves. It can be difficult for nurses to realize the positive impact they have on patients and their families' lives. No matter the future health outcome of the above patient, at least he and his wife were able to celebrate their achievement of embracing "in sickness and in health".
My hope with this DAISY Award is that Kali realizes that she did make a difference to that one.
A young man is walking along the ocean and sees a beach on which thousands and thousands of starfish have washed ashore. Further along he sees an old man, walking slowly and stooping often, picking up one starfish after another and tossing each one gently into the ocean.
Why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?, he asks.
Because the sun is up and the tide is going out and if I don't throw them further in they will die.
But, old man, don't you realize there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it! You can't possibly save them all, you can't even save one-tenth of them. In fact, even if you work all day, your efforts won't make any difference at all.
The old man listened calmly and then bent down to pick up another starfish and threw it into the sea. It made a difference to that one, he said.
Kali exemplifies the old man in the Starfish Story by making a difference one person at a time. When Kali came to me asking to use my office I knew she had something up her sleeve. After finding out one of her patients was going to be in the hospital on the day of his and his wife's 39th wedding anniversary, Kali started planning her covert operation. The celebration was to take place in my office which allowed the patient off the unit but still within arm's reach. It also afforded the couple the illusion of privacy.
The dinner was as romantic as a dinner could possibly be while in the hospital and was complete with food brought in from a favorite restaurant and included a real table cloth and real plates. The only element missing was the candles.
Sometimes in nursing you are not able to witness the positive impact or the happy outcome that your care provides. And sometime there is no happy outcome. That is very true on the Oncology Unit where seemingly more patients' condition worsens than improves. It can be difficult for nurses to realize the positive impact they have on patients and their families' lives. No matter the future health outcome of the above patient, at least he and his wife were able to celebrate their achievement of embracing "in sickness and in health".
My hope with this DAISY Award is that Kali realizes that she did make a difference to that one.