I want to recognize Donna for the exemplary pre-op care given to a patient in SDS. The patient came in and was having a craniotomy for a resection of a tumor. During her assessment, Donna noticed that the patient had a large bruise under his right arm. He has told her that when he was lifting a heavy bag of birdseed he heard a pop. The patient had not mentioned it to the doctor and ended up with an undiagnosed tendon tear. To complicate matters more, the patient had a low platelet count of 81 ten days prior to surgery and there was already an order to transfuse the patient with platelets prior to surgery. Donna further researched this and did not find another current platelet count. She was concerned especially with the large bruise under the patient’s arm. After speaking to the doctor, Donna drew a CBC. The platelet count was 232. With these new findings, the patient did not need the platelets.

Donna used her critical thinking skills and saved this patient from getting an unnecessary platelet infusion, and she was able to get the bruised arm diagnosed prior to surgery so that the patient could be positioned in a way to protect his arm throughout the procedure.

Also, I want to mention that Donna does a superior job starting IVs in the preop area. One of the patient’s main fears coming to the hospital is getting their IV started on the first try and as painless as possible. Donna is one of the best nurses at starting IVs. Donna is often the nurse that her colleagues go to when they are having difficulty with a patient who is a hard stick. Donna also does an excellent job at our follow-up phone calls. She is very knowledgeable about all kinds of surgeries and she is able to help the patient when they ask specific questions regarding their surgery. She freely apologizes and offers follow-up when the patient has a concern or complaint. Donna encourages the patient to fill out the surveys when they receive them.