While teaching the Community course this fall, we had the hurricane storms that affected so many. However, with the grandest heart of a nurse, one of my students shared a daring and caring story. After working a mandatory 12-hour overnight shift, this student was on her way home and witnessed a motor vehicle accident. The vehicle was in front of her and the driver lost control. The car ended up around a telephone pole on its side. Many drivers passed by without stopping. This student stopped just before 8AM and stayed until responders arrived more than two hours later. The winds and rain from the storm were the reason for the delayed response. She found one of the two victims unresponsive and reported to the EMT service operator that there was no pulse. This student shared that it was difficult to avoid answering the questions from the driver about his friend. After responders arrived, neighbors were just then alerted to the accident. They had dismissed the sounds as part of the storm. This heroic and caring response from a soon to graduate nursing student certainly speaks to the heart of the nurse. She also had the head and caring hands.
On another note, this same student had just returned from burying her grandmother a week before. As I watched her perform without fault in the simulation lab, I thought what an amazing person nursing will soon call their own!