February 2018
Lisa
Polier
,
RN
Vascular Access
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Philadelphia
,
PA
United States

 

 

 

We were unsure if we could use a patient's PICC for IV contrast, so the IV team was called. This IV team nurse was calm and collected and helped me and my coworkers the entire time. What stood out the most to me, was when Lisa was holding my patient's arm. The doctor said to her, "you don't need to hold his arm he's sedated he won't move anymore." Lisa replied, "I just want to hold his hand." This made me snap back to reality and realize that this kiddo can hear us and was probably scared out of his mind. I cannot commend Lisa enough for this, it really touched my heart. Lisa was also calm when the CT tech repeatedly told us we couldn't use the patient's PICC for contrast. Lisa maintained a professional demeanor and as soon as it was clear for her to go into the room, she ran in to start an IV. After the IV was placed, Lisa came up to me and patted me on the shoulder and told me to "hang in there." I'm not sure if she could tell I was freaking out on the inside, but regardless, that little phrase gave me comfort. In emergency situations, it's really hard to keep your emotions in check while also trying to be empathetic and remember that this patient is a little person who doesn't fully understand what's going on and is most likely scared beyond belief. Lisa was such a team player that day and I don't think anyone could have handled it better than her! I'm so thankful that she came down to help us!