December 2016
Mar
Lindawan
,
BSN, RN
2JCP
The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
Iowa City
,
IA
United States
Mar-Rex had a patient who had an eye procedure performed and needed to keep an eye patch on for safety reasons. This particular patient was nonverbal and also had some sensory issues that made it very difficult for him to leave the patch alone. Mar-Rex took the time to work with this patient in developing a plan to keep him out of restraints (which would have otherwise been necessary to keep the patch on). Mar-Rex discovered that the patient was sensitive to tape touching his hair, and after this change was made, the patient was calmer. Mar-Rex also took the time to discover that the patient likes to hold things in his hands. He was agitated with mitts on because he could not hold or touch things. Mar-Rex switched devices where only his elbows were immobilized and the patient was again, much happier. Mar-Rex went above and beyond to help this patient be as safe as possible and be able to go home much sooner than expected.