April 2022
Lisa
Russell
,
BSN, Lead RN PACU
PACU
CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Hospital - New Braunfels
New Braunfels
,
TX
United States
Lisa wasn’t convinced. She contacted the anesthesiologist and basically felt something just wasn’t right.
Lisa was alerted to a patient in recovery following an arthroscopy procedure who had no cardiac history or hypertension. The patient had chest pain and shortness of breath but had a normal EKG and normal vital signs, the concerns over a cardiac event was lessened. Lisa wasn’t convinced. She contacted the anesthesiologist and basically felt something just wasn’t right. She was asked to consult the hospitalist who agreed to evaluate the patient and the patient was admitted. In the meantime, the patient’s symptoms had lessened and was stable. As it turned out, a CT of the chest showed a small PE. The patient did well overnight and was discharged. Lisa’s clinical judgment and skills are impressive. She’s the person in the OR you call if you have a patient crashing. If you need an extra set of hands, she is the one who can help you. Have a combative or emotional patient, Lisa is the one who will calm them down. This is not to say other nurses cannot do the things she does or that others don’t have these skills. But with Lisa’s calm demeanor and impressive set of skills, it’s always a relief to look up and see she is the one coming to help you.