Paula Schenck
October 2023
Paula
Schenck
,
RN
Off-Site Anesthesia Team
UVA Health
Charlottesville
,
VA
United States

 

 

 

Not only did Paula ensure that this child got the best possible care, but she also considered the mother and how badly she needed a break.

After coming in three hours early to ensure that a pediatric patient was able to receive his radiation treatment in ECCCC, Paula worked all day in radiology. That afternoon a request came in for a sedated MRI/LP on a 16-year-old peds psych patient in ED who was violent and currently in 4-point restraints. The offsite charge RN asked if the patient could be scheduled early the following day when more resources were available rather than starting after 1700, but the peds attending was concerned that a delay would cost him placement availability in an inpatient psych facility.

Paula recognized that this would be a complex and difficult procedure. She could have just clocked out and left it for the on-call nurse to worry about but instead, she stayed late and coordinated the care of this patient. She ensured that the PACU charge nurse was aware since she knew this patient would have to recover upstairs due to the late hour and his behaviors. Additionally, she contacted the Peds team to ensure that the consent was done ahead of time so that the mom could take a break during the procedures.

She worked with anesthesia to sedate the patient in ED, safely transport them to MRI, complete the scan and LP, track down more than lab tubes, and draw blood for all of them, then safely transport the patient and handoff to the PACU RN. Not only did Paula ensure that this child got the best possible care, but she also considered the mother and how badly she needed a break. She communicated with the ED and PACU nursing teams to ensure the plan was known by all parties. Paula clearly went "above and beyond" in the care and coordination of this patient, but what is most striking is that for her, it was just another day of doing what she does.