December 2021
Dannelly
Mckenzie
,
RN
4E Ashley River Tower
Medical University of South Carolina-Charleston
Charleston
,
SC
United States
Though the patient does not respond to what Dannelly is saying, she continues to talk through the details of each step.
While Dannelly is compassionate and caring with all of her patients, she has gone above and beyond for one in particular. There is a patient who has been on our unit for a couple of months whose hospital course has been very complicated. As a result, she is now non-verbal, completely immobile, and on contact isolation for C. diff. Whenever Dannelly is assigned this patient, whether it is day or night shift, she goes above and beyond the required care and spends long periods of time in the patient’s room. Before she begins her care, she talks to the patient and thoroughly explains what she is doing.
Though the patient does not respond to what Dannelly is saying, she continues to talk through the details of each step.
This patient, a heart transplant, is on a large number of medications. When passing meds, Dannelly takes the time to educate the patient on what each med is and its purpose, despite the lack of response from the patient. She does this every shift and is patient and thorough in her education. Furthermore, Dannelly spends a great deal of time talking with the patient’s husband and explaining her care to him as well. She ensures he knows the daily plan of care and allows him
to provide feedback and participate in the patient’s care
to ensure he feels heard and like he is part of the team.
Before arriving to our unit, the patient was in the ICU for
several months and developed a Stage 3 pressure injury on her sacrum during this time. Every shift that Dannelly cares for the patient, she starts her day by collaborating with the PCT to create a Q2 turn schedule and a plan for mobilizing the patient’s joints through passive range of motion exercises. Because of Dannelly’s diligence, the pressure injury was completely healed within a month of the patient being on our unit.
The patient is also on hemodialysis three to five days a week requiring early morning transport to the dialysis unit where she remains for up to 5 hours. Recognizing the importance of the patient’s anti-rejection medications being administered on time, Dannelly always ensures that they are administered before this transportation. However, if this is not possible, she goes above and beyond by going to the patient in the hemodialysis unit to ensure they are administered in a timely fashion. Dannelly never hesitates to go the extra mile with her patients without being asked and she is a wonderful asset to our team!
Though the patient does not respond to what Dannelly is saying, she continues to talk through the details of each step.
This patient, a heart transplant, is on a large number of medications. When passing meds, Dannelly takes the time to educate the patient on what each med is and its purpose, despite the lack of response from the patient. She does this every shift and is patient and thorough in her education. Furthermore, Dannelly spends a great deal of time talking with the patient’s husband and explaining her care to him as well. She ensures he knows the daily plan of care and allows him
to provide feedback and participate in the patient’s care
to ensure he feels heard and like he is part of the team.
Before arriving to our unit, the patient was in the ICU for
several months and developed a Stage 3 pressure injury on her sacrum during this time. Every shift that Dannelly cares for the patient, she starts her day by collaborating with the PCT to create a Q2 turn schedule and a plan for mobilizing the patient’s joints through passive range of motion exercises. Because of Dannelly’s diligence, the pressure injury was completely healed within a month of the patient being on our unit.
The patient is also on hemodialysis three to five days a week requiring early morning transport to the dialysis unit where she remains for up to 5 hours. Recognizing the importance of the patient’s anti-rejection medications being administered on time, Dannelly always ensures that they are administered before this transportation. However, if this is not possible, she goes above and beyond by going to the patient in the hemodialysis unit to ensure they are administered in a timely fashion. Dannelly never hesitates to go the extra mile with her patients without being asked and she is a wonderful asset to our team!