January 2024
Ethan
Moore
,
RN, BSN, CEN, CHFM
Emergency Department
VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital
South Hill
,
VA
United States
As soon as the patient saw Ethan, she was beaming and began to laugh and chat away with Ethan. Ethan pulled up a chair, sat with the patient, held her hand, and chatted away, which was a perfect distraction for her.
I was called to a patient’s room to start an IV, which ended up requiring an ultrasound-guided IV. The patient has been seen multiple times in our facility and reported to me that since June she has only spent a total of 3 weeks at home. The patient is familiar with some of the staff names, especially “Ethan.” Once the patient had multiple attempts as a peripheral IV, I advised her that it was best if we tried for an US guided IV. She began to have tears in her eyes, and said, “S, do you think you could get Ethan to come up here and see me?” I advised the patient that I would reach out to Ethan and see what I could do. I called Ethan, and he said that he would come right up to fulfill the patient’s needs/comforts. As soon as the patient saw Ethan, she was beaming and began to laugh and chat away with Ethan. Ethan brought her a stress ball to help alleviate any other stressful events that may come up. Ethan pulled up a chair, sat with the patient, held her hand, and chatted away, which was a perfect distraction for her. Sometimes putting in ultrasound IVs takes time, and this particular patient is really hard to get an IV, as well as terrified about being stuck. I was able to complete the procedure all while the patient was smiling and laughing with Ethan. I do not think it would have been possible to get an IV without Ethan’s presence to relax her and distract her from life’s ups and downs. I want to be sure that Ethan’s dedication and commitment to exceptional care do not go unnoticed. So thank you, Ethan, for making it so easy to be the “Dream team.”