Amy Lucas
December 2016
Amy
Lucas
,
MSN, RN, CCNS, CCRN-K.
Clinical Nurse Specialist, Nursing Quality and Safety
Carilion Clinic Roanoke Campus
Roanoke
,
VA
United States

 

 

 

Dear Amy,
Please accept my sincere appreciation for your kind consideration and helpful support when I consulted you last Friday. I had called you because we wanted to clarify orders for intermittent bladder irrigation vs. CBI. Two different providers had written these orders and one of them had told us to just do what is easiest. Although it was after 4pm on a Friday, you were willing to listen; to offer suggestions; to dive into the chart and understand patient's c/c and then decipher MD orders. The case was complicated as the patient had CRF on top of the hematuria, among other problems. Even then, you did everything you could to walk us through the strategies and rationale for one procedure vs the other. Both the patient's primary RN and I were very impressed and most appreciative. The nurse assured me that she now knew what to do and was comfortable to proceed.
As this nurse went to prep the patient and begin the irrigation, and I helped with her other patients, it was extremely impressive to turn around and see your smiling face and the magic words, "I just thought I would come check on you before I head home". You actually showed up on our unit - which is out of your way and an errand that was not in your plans. I recall that by this time it was well after 5pm and I was surprised that you were still in the hospital and better yet: that you made the time and effort to come check on us. WOW!! This act of love and compassion for others and for our patients is simply priceless. However, you did not stop there. Oh, No... You did much more!
During a quick surveillance of our process and available supplies, you realized that another floor may have a pivotal piece of equipment that would make our work much easier. You offered this information and offered to go to that unit -all the way to the West Pavilion- to obtain that piece of equipment for us. If anyone had been standing from my vantage point, they could have seen and felt the stress and anxiety dissipate from the nurse's face. She started smiling as you talked to her reassuringly, complimented her along the process, and gave her pointers for the next time around. What warmed my heart the most is the way you included the patient in that conversation. You asked him how he was feeling and touched him to comfort him.
Many thanks to you Amy! You are an exemplification of our Carilion Values. Your passion for teaching is endless and I was glad to be the recipient of such dedication the other day. I knew this was your expertise as I told the other nurse when I called you. However, I did not tell her what a warm, brilliant, compassionate professional you are. She got to experience that firsthand. Thank you ever so much for blessing us and our patient with that positive experience last Friday. We appreciate you, Amy. Thank You so very much.