Douglas Lance
January 2025
Douglas
Lance
,
BSN, RN, MS-BC, OCN
Oncology/General Surgery
MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center
Laguna Hills
,
CA
United States
Doug is the type of person who, if he has the power to help someone in need, he will.
On the Oncology unit, we see many patients and their families make the difficult decision of transitioning from healing care to comfort-focused care. This transition can happen quickly and when the decision is made, time seems to go by faster for the family while they wait for their loved one to be in a comfortable state. Many times, they are at the bedside nonstop and seeing their loved one in distress is very upsetting.
On this day, Douglas went above and beyond for a patient and inspired others to work together for the sake of the patient. The patient had been battling stage four breast cancer and was failing to thrive. The family made the decision to transition to GIP Hospice. One of the new orders was to start the patient on a Dilaudid PCA, which would provide comforting pain relief.
The time needed to do things such as flipping the chart, which removes all previous orders for as-needed pain relief, the entering of new orders, the pharmacy verification of those orders, and the time it takes to obtain all the supplies and medications is not necessarily a short process. It does not feel short for the patient or the family at the bedside.
The patient's family's anxiety and worry were heightened as they came to the nurse's station several times to ask for different things. Even though he was not the patient's nurse, Doug had been at the nurse's station, picked up on the family's distress, and offered to help.
One of the holdups was obtaining a PCA pump from central supply. Sometimes they are left on the unit by a previous patient, so he goes around the unit to try to find one. When he couldn't, he offered to go down to central supply to pick one up. We mentioned that central supply was looking for one, too, and that it was not a delivery issue. You could tell that he was disappointed by that answer and offered to do anything else.
Ativan for anxiety and comfort was prescribed as needed. The patient's nurse was going to administer medication to another patient, so Doug offered to give it so that the patient could have some relief while we waited for the pump. I was inspired to get everything set up as quickly as possible by his urgency for the patient's well-being.
As soon as the pump came up, we got the PCA key and the medication. The nurse was still with the other patient, so Doug went with me to set up and co-sign the patient's Dilaudid drip so that the patient and family could be more at ease.
When I went to thank him for helping to make this patient comfortable, he said, "I just hate to see people suffer unnecessarily." Doug is the type of person who, if he has the power to help someone in need, he will. It would've been easy to just say, we're waiting for the pump, there's nothing we can do. But his urgency made me see that we can do other things, such as ensuring we request the medication ASAP, getting all the tubing and supplies, being diligent in checking the med room to see if the medication is up, and constantly following up with central supply, instead of just waiting for the pump to arrive before doing any of that.
The family was so grateful, and most importantly, the patient's pain was alleviated.
Doug joined our 2E family in 2022, and in that short time, he has become chemotherapy certified, obtained his MSRN certification, precepted a nursing student, and offered to be the nurse that students shadow when they round on the units. He has a passion for education and, although he will deny it, a drive to further his profession. He joined the Oncology Nursing Society and actively attends the Orange County chapter meetings every month. He has helped in the infusion center and is currently planning to pursue OCN certification, which is a very challenging certification.
His compassion for his patients, his dedication to helping his team, and his drive for professional growth are some of the main reasons why he is an extraordinary nurse.
On this day, Douglas went above and beyond for a patient and inspired others to work together for the sake of the patient. The patient had been battling stage four breast cancer and was failing to thrive. The family made the decision to transition to GIP Hospice. One of the new orders was to start the patient on a Dilaudid PCA, which would provide comforting pain relief.
The time needed to do things such as flipping the chart, which removes all previous orders for as-needed pain relief, the entering of new orders, the pharmacy verification of those orders, and the time it takes to obtain all the supplies and medications is not necessarily a short process. It does not feel short for the patient or the family at the bedside.
The patient's family's anxiety and worry were heightened as they came to the nurse's station several times to ask for different things. Even though he was not the patient's nurse, Doug had been at the nurse's station, picked up on the family's distress, and offered to help.
One of the holdups was obtaining a PCA pump from central supply. Sometimes they are left on the unit by a previous patient, so he goes around the unit to try to find one. When he couldn't, he offered to go down to central supply to pick one up. We mentioned that central supply was looking for one, too, and that it was not a delivery issue. You could tell that he was disappointed by that answer and offered to do anything else.
Ativan for anxiety and comfort was prescribed as needed. The patient's nurse was going to administer medication to another patient, so Doug offered to give it so that the patient could have some relief while we waited for the pump. I was inspired to get everything set up as quickly as possible by his urgency for the patient's well-being.
As soon as the pump came up, we got the PCA key and the medication. The nurse was still with the other patient, so Doug went with me to set up and co-sign the patient's Dilaudid drip so that the patient and family could be more at ease.
When I went to thank him for helping to make this patient comfortable, he said, "I just hate to see people suffer unnecessarily." Doug is the type of person who, if he has the power to help someone in need, he will. It would've been easy to just say, we're waiting for the pump, there's nothing we can do. But his urgency made me see that we can do other things, such as ensuring we request the medication ASAP, getting all the tubing and supplies, being diligent in checking the med room to see if the medication is up, and constantly following up with central supply, instead of just waiting for the pump to arrive before doing any of that.
The family was so grateful, and most importantly, the patient's pain was alleviated.
Doug joined our 2E family in 2022, and in that short time, he has become chemotherapy certified, obtained his MSRN certification, precepted a nursing student, and offered to be the nurse that students shadow when they round on the units. He has a passion for education and, although he will deny it, a drive to further his profession. He joined the Oncology Nursing Society and actively attends the Orange County chapter meetings every month. He has helped in the infusion center and is currently planning to pursue OCN certification, which is a very challenging certification.
His compassion for his patients, his dedication to helping his team, and his drive for professional growth are some of the main reasons why he is an extraordinary nurse.