Tara regularly embodies all six Penn Medicine Experience standards, and in this specific patient scenario, she exemplifies compassion, empowerment, cultural humility, and collaboration. For six days in a row, Tara cared for a 37 yr. old female admitted to Lancaster General Hospital. This patient was involved in a motor vehicle accident driving under the influence of methamphetamines and sustained bilateral subdural hematomas, subarachnoid fractures. Over the course of a month, she had multiple orthopedic surgeries for her bilateral ankle fractures. She was then transferred from Trauma Neuro Intensive Care Unit for 4EW where she is awaiting placement with no accepting nursing facilities due to her limited bilateral lower extremity wright bearing status. In addition to her current acute medical diagnoses the patient has a past medical history of bipolar ll depression, anxiety, polysubstance abuse, and a previous suicide attempt.

Tara’s empathetic nursing style allowed her to recognize the acute change in her chronic anxiety and depression, and she asked the attending provider to consult psychiatry. Tara embodies compassionate nursing, ensuring her patients receive the best care and outcomes without becoming complacent. Through the patient's psychiatric consultation and therapeutic communication with the patient, Tara learned that the patient lived in foster care, homeless shelters, and group homes, and she engaged in illicit drug use to cope with her mother’s recent death. The patient is also struggling with being away from her 8-year-old daughter. Tara especially exudes cultural humility after discovering the patient’s worries about the accident’s legal ramifications, especially child endangerment charges, since her 4 year old nephew was in the car. Through this multidisciplinary collaboration, Psychiatry was able to start the patient on new medication for bipolar depression and anxiety.

Tara evaluated the patient’s medical and psychosocial needs by developing an individualized plan of care with the patient, which continuously evolved over six consecutive shifts. She was the 1st nurse to help mechanically lift the patient out of bed and into her recliner. I was grateful to be present during this collaborative effort and humbled by this experience. The patient asked if I could take a picture on her cell phone for her daughter, and upon viewing the photo the patient became overly emotional with joy. I learned that Tara ensured the patient was in her recliner for all six consecutive shifts and, over the weekend, created an intimate dinner with the patient and her family outside the patient's room.

Tara gives the utmost care to our patients while fostering the next generation of nurses to demonstrate how extraordinary care is delivered on 4EW for our diverse patient population. Overall, she ensures all her patients are kept to the same standards and remains authentic in every patient and family interaction, thus embodying the standards that make up the Penn Medicine Experience.