April 2014
Marcy
Pluchar
,
BSN, RN, CCRN
ASHU-Advocate Children's - Oak Lawn Campus
Advocate Children's Hospital
Oak Lawn
,
IL
United States
Marcy is an excellent example of a nurse who always gives compassionate care. Like a true DAISY Nurse, she not only listens with her ears, but with her heart. Marcy regularly gets recognized by parents in our discharge phone calls and patient satisfaction surveys for the caring nurse that she is, but she is extremely humble. She repeatedly remarks that she is just lucky and that she is thankful for the gift that she has been given.
One patient comes to mind when thinking of Marcy as a DAISY nurse. She is a five year old girl that would come to the PICU for 5 days at a time for 6 or 7 different sessions to receive her chemotherapy. She needed to come to the PICU for her chemo because it caused so much pain that she would likely require considerate doses of continuous pain medication infusions. Marcy was one of this patient's favorite nurses for not surprising reasons. Normally when a patient is discharged, their kardex, which includes patient specifics, is filed with the chart. Marcy had an idea to save the Kardex so that the next time this patient was admitted, her nurses and physicians would be reminded of which pain medications worked for her without having to go through the trial and error process each time. On one of her admissions Marcy was able to spot the tiny changes in this girl's symptoms and advocate for changes in her care plan. Marcy noticed that her patient could tolerate her chemo at slower rates, but when the infusion was run faster the pain was intolerable. Marcy brought this observation to the care team's attention and the infusion was kept at a slower rate. Another time Marcy was taking care of this little girl, she was crying that she just wanted to be held. Marcy noted that the patient's mom was in the room but picked up on her stress. Marcy could feel that this mother was not in a place to comfort her daughter because she likely needed comforting herself. Without passing judgment, Marcy kindly asked the patient's mom if she would mind if Marcy held her, and she rocked her patient until she fell asleep.
I am not sure how she always finds the right words, but Marcy truly has a gift to put patients and families at ease no matter what the situation presents. Her compassion, patience, and good nature are inspiring.
One patient comes to mind when thinking of Marcy as a DAISY nurse. She is a five year old girl that would come to the PICU for 5 days at a time for 6 or 7 different sessions to receive her chemotherapy. She needed to come to the PICU for her chemo because it caused so much pain that she would likely require considerate doses of continuous pain medication infusions. Marcy was one of this patient's favorite nurses for not surprising reasons. Normally when a patient is discharged, their kardex, which includes patient specifics, is filed with the chart. Marcy had an idea to save the Kardex so that the next time this patient was admitted, her nurses and physicians would be reminded of which pain medications worked for her without having to go through the trial and error process each time. On one of her admissions Marcy was able to spot the tiny changes in this girl's symptoms and advocate for changes in her care plan. Marcy noticed that her patient could tolerate her chemo at slower rates, but when the infusion was run faster the pain was intolerable. Marcy brought this observation to the care team's attention and the infusion was kept at a slower rate. Another time Marcy was taking care of this little girl, she was crying that she just wanted to be held. Marcy noted that the patient's mom was in the room but picked up on her stress. Marcy could feel that this mother was not in a place to comfort her daughter because she likely needed comforting herself. Without passing judgment, Marcy kindly asked the patient's mom if she would mind if Marcy held her, and she rocked her patient until she fell asleep.
I am not sure how she always finds the right words, but Marcy truly has a gift to put patients and families at ease no matter what the situation presents. Her compassion, patience, and good nature are inspiring.