Kevin Colwin
April 2024
Kevin
Colwin
,
BSN, RN
Pre/post PACU
UW Health-East Madison Hospital
Madison
,
WI
United States
Kevin began by asking me about my veins and prior experiences. It impressed me that my personal knowledge was relevant to the care he would give.
It's Christmas morning as I write this nomination; I'm home-bound post-surgery from a total knee replacement at East Madison Hospital. Why take time to write on Christmas? Most simply, there couldn't be a nurse unique and special in the areas of better day to write about remarkable care and extraordinary compassion, remarkable care and extraordinary compassion. I am writing to nominate Kevin Colwin for the DAISY Award for Excellence in Nursing Care.
Kevin was the pre-op nurse who shepherded me to surgery. However, he's not the first nurse I've met at the UWH & Clinics worthy of a DAISY Award. In the 1990s, a late-shift nurse from Sun Prairie cared for me in the "old" UW Children's Hospital. Our 13-year-old son had been admitted the day before as an AML patient (Acute Myeloid Leukemia, pretty much a death sentence). I had decided to sleep overnight with him in the hospital, and I awoke in the night, sobbing. The nurse who comforted me still holds a place in my heart. Since the 1990s, I've met many nurses, nurse's aides, residents, and doctors. This nomination offers the review committee a small part of the story of Kevin. He easily stands out from the crowd.
On admission to East Madison Hospital, I was a nervous pre-op patient with a blood pressure that was a far cry from my normal. Kevin was an angel of comfort from the very first moment we met. But he was more than that, also a man of skill and of extraordinary care. Predictably, one of Kevin's first tasks was to set an IV. In the past, I've had IVs placed in the hand and elbow with pain, bruising, and sometimes even failure to find the vein on the first or even on the second try. These experiences have made me wary of nurses who come bearing needles. Kevin began by asking me about my veins and prior experiences. It impressed me that my personal knowledge was relevant to the care he would give. After I told him what I knew, he examined my right arm. Since no good veins were evident, he warmed my right forearm, "prospecting" for a vein. Still no good prospects. Next, he explained to me that he would use an ultrasound to locate a good vein. But the part that intrigued me? Once he found the vein, he told me he would use a tiny needle to inject a numbing agent before placing the IV needle. As I am a chemist, I asked him which agent, perhaps lidocaine. "Bacteriostatic saline solution," was his reply. "Huh...? What's that? Doesn't sound in the lidocaine family to me." In spite of my skepticism, after the tiny needle had come and gone and the IV had been placed, I had to agree that the site had been nicely numb. Also, there was no bruising. WOW! Kevin then continued to exceed all expectations. He explained how he was one of a small group at Madison East who had been trained to inject bacteriostatic saline slowly through the skin layers. Clearly, I was puzzled about the bacteriostatic solution. Kevin quickly admitted, "I'm not sure exactly what the name means, either. Let's look it up." The very next instant, he was on his cell searching. Another WOW! Together, we would learn something. Actually, what resulted is that I was 100% distracted from my upcoming surgery, impressed that Kevin, skillful as he was in setting an IV, was a co-learner with me in regard to how a saline solution could anesthetize.
In summary, skillful, and compassionate nursing involves at least two competencies: (1) people skills, and (2) technical skills. One alone is not enough. For example, a nurse could be warm and fuzzy but cause undue pain in a medical procedure. Kevin clearly is a master practitioner of both skills. Working in pre-surgery, he only gets to spend a short time with patients. However, in a matter of minutes, he created an atmosphere that left me more relaxed, appreciative, and better informed. Nurses who only spend a short time with patients easily may be overlooked for recognition. I offer you this nomination with the hope that you don't overlook Kevin.
Kevin was the pre-op nurse who shepherded me to surgery. However, he's not the first nurse I've met at the UWH & Clinics worthy of a DAISY Award. In the 1990s, a late-shift nurse from Sun Prairie cared for me in the "old" UW Children's Hospital. Our 13-year-old son had been admitted the day before as an AML patient (Acute Myeloid Leukemia, pretty much a death sentence). I had decided to sleep overnight with him in the hospital, and I awoke in the night, sobbing. The nurse who comforted me still holds a place in my heart. Since the 1990s, I've met many nurses, nurse's aides, residents, and doctors. This nomination offers the review committee a small part of the story of Kevin. He easily stands out from the crowd.
On admission to East Madison Hospital, I was a nervous pre-op patient with a blood pressure that was a far cry from my normal. Kevin was an angel of comfort from the very first moment we met. But he was more than that, also a man of skill and of extraordinary care. Predictably, one of Kevin's first tasks was to set an IV. In the past, I've had IVs placed in the hand and elbow with pain, bruising, and sometimes even failure to find the vein on the first or even on the second try. These experiences have made me wary of nurses who come bearing needles. Kevin began by asking me about my veins and prior experiences. It impressed me that my personal knowledge was relevant to the care he would give. After I told him what I knew, he examined my right arm. Since no good veins were evident, he warmed my right forearm, "prospecting" for a vein. Still no good prospects. Next, he explained to me that he would use an ultrasound to locate a good vein. But the part that intrigued me? Once he found the vein, he told me he would use a tiny needle to inject a numbing agent before placing the IV needle. As I am a chemist, I asked him which agent, perhaps lidocaine. "Bacteriostatic saline solution," was his reply. "Huh...? What's that? Doesn't sound in the lidocaine family to me." In spite of my skepticism, after the tiny needle had come and gone and the IV had been placed, I had to agree that the site had been nicely numb. Also, there was no bruising. WOW! Kevin then continued to exceed all expectations. He explained how he was one of a small group at Madison East who had been trained to inject bacteriostatic saline slowly through the skin layers. Clearly, I was puzzled about the bacteriostatic solution. Kevin quickly admitted, "I'm not sure exactly what the name means, either. Let's look it up." The very next instant, he was on his cell searching. Another WOW! Together, we would learn something. Actually, what resulted is that I was 100% distracted from my upcoming surgery, impressed that Kevin, skillful as he was in setting an IV, was a co-learner with me in regard to how a saline solution could anesthetize.
In summary, skillful, and compassionate nursing involves at least two competencies: (1) people skills, and (2) technical skills. One alone is not enough. For example, a nurse could be warm and fuzzy but cause undue pain in a medical procedure. Kevin clearly is a master practitioner of both skills. Working in pre-surgery, he only gets to spend a short time with patients. However, in a matter of minutes, he created an atmosphere that left me more relaxed, appreciative, and better informed. Nurses who only spend a short time with patients easily may be overlooked for recognition. I offer you this nomination with the hope that you don't overlook Kevin.