I was brought into the emergency room via ambulance because I hadn't been feeling well for several months and finally reached a point where I couldn't walk across the room without getting short of breath. Upon my arrival to the ER, I was assigned to John (who was in training) as my nurse. John explained my new conditions to me of Afib and CHF, which was why I was feeling so short of breath. He explained the medications that they were going to give me for the Afib and the blood draws that I would need while on the medication. John made certain that he explained not only to me what was happening but also to my niece who had to wait until I was settled before coming into the room. John also made sure he kept me informed on every test I was going to have. When I needed a second IV and his preceptor couldn't find a vein he asked for the IV team to come and start a site. He also coordinated a blood draw to be done by the IV team so that I wouldn't have to be stuck again. When my niece asked questions about the treatment plan, John was able to answer her questions with confidence. He also asked the doctor to come in and speak to my niece since she wasn't in the room when he first came in.
When it came time for me to transfer to my new room, John took me there and made certain he spoke to the nurse in front of me about my care. When I transferred to the new bed they had to lay me flat to get the slider mattress underneath me. I started to panic because when I lay flat, I couldn't breathe. John grabbed my hand sensing that I was panicking and talked to me in a calm voice all while telling me it was going to be ok and take nice slow breaths. He then put oxygen on me even though I didn't need it for my saturation level. This quick thinking and small gesture were routine for him but for me, it meant the world.
A few days later my niece saw him in the hallway, he asked how I was doing and told her to tell me hi and that he was thinking of me. I haven't been to a doctor or the hospital in many years and wasn't expecting to come into the hospital this way but John made my ER visit, transfer to a new unit, and multiple new conditions easier to manage and understand. I would have never known that John was in training (except he told me) because he handled everything like a pro. If I am ever in the ER again I would love to have him as my nurse. He is an amazing caring nurse.