I have not worked with Meagan until her transition to day shift but had heard through many of my co-workers that she is great to work with. That was an understatement. I had the pleasure of working side by side with Meagan for three days straight. Meagan is great, excellent actually, to work with.
On the first day, Meagan helped orchestrate mobilizing a ventilated patient from the bed to the chair to help us promote good lung health. On the second day, she orchestrated the same move and I honestly believe her stepping up and getting this done helped us extubate the patient as quickly as we did. This helped decrease the ventilator days, decrease the chance for pneumonia and more importantly the chance of the patient having to have a surgically placed tracheotomy.
The third day was a hectic and emotional day. Meagan had a critical patient and she saw a trend that was compromising her patient and she really stood out. She became the best patient advocate she could be. She made call after call until she got eyes on her patient and the help he needed. She showed such professionalism that it made me very proud to be on her team. She stuck by her patient even after he coded and advocated for him and what she felt he needed and she got it. Sadly, it did not end the way we would like for these situations to end, but it wasn't for lack of fight. She showed such professional and emotional strength that day for her patient. It really made one understand what advocacy is all about when the patient cannot speak for themselves. Meagan was such a trooper and it was on a day that she was not even scheduled to work.
I really think those three days that Meagan was here and did what she did is what we are here for. Sometimes that goes unnoticed, I would like for us all to notice what she did, what she went through for her patients. Meagan deserves applause for coming through it and making us all know that when we need her, she will be there and she will fight for us if she needs to. Meagan is a strong, smart, and inspirational nurse.