Amber Wilson is able to connect with patients in a way that enables care of the whole person, not just the physical needs. Recently we had a patient in the process of transferring to our PCU. This patient had been in our PCU for a couple weeks before being discharged, was readmitted to MICU for a couple weeks, then being transferred back to our unit. This patient was considered a difficult patient by most nurses as her disease process resulted in chronic anemia and severe chronic pain. She required frequent blood transfusions, but due to several (some severe) transfusion reactions, transfusing blood was a very detailed, regimented, time consuming process. In addition, the patient required very frequent, large amounts of IV push pain medication, and was not always polite about asking, or appreciative of care received. In fact, this particular patient could be quite rude.
As charge nurse that day I learned the patient would be returning. I pondered over who to assign this patient when Amber asked, "Oh, is she coming back? Put her on my team. I like her." My initial response was, "Are you serious?" Amber replied, "Yes, and I'm back tomorrow so she can be on my team again. We bonded the last time she was here. She's a really smart person and I like her...." Amber proceeded to tell me detailed facts about this person that no one else had learned.
More recently we had a difficult Cystic Fibrosis patient who was proving to be very challenging to the nursing staff. He was developmentally disabled and had a difficult time following hospital policies with regard to his disease. He became agitated with some staff members, but Amber (who was not his nurse this particular way) in her own sweet way was able to connect with him and talk him into behaving in accordance with hospital policy.
On another occasion, Amber was working with a patient who his only desire was to get out of bed and go for a short walk; he and his family had really wanted this to happen. Without hesitation, Amber had anticipated his needs ahead of time and ensured he would be safe to do so. The family also went on to inform the following nurses how she was able to make his and their experience much more tolerable.
We need more nurses like Amber. Every shift we work with her we are amazed by the way she is able to connect with her patients. AND they respond to her! She is sincere and always creates special experiences for her patients. Thank You, Amber, for working on 10PCU and being our ray of light when it comes to caring for our patients.