June 2017
Ashlyn
Cota
,
RN, BSN
Cardiac Telemetry 2 North
Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center
Knoxville
,
TN
United States
We recently had a patient admitted to our unit who was not an English speaker. The patient was a Swahili speaker, and the family spoke varying degrees of English. None of them were fluent and communicating with the patient was extremely difficult. The patient had been newly diagnosed with diabetes during the admission. The patient was here approximately a week as we tried to get her diabetes under control. Even with the language line, it was a real challenge to try to teach both the patient and her family how to manage diabetes, including sliding scale insulin.
Each staff member who encountered the patient did their best to educate her, however, Ashlyn went above and beyond. Ashlyn cared for the patient the weekend her discharge was expected. She spent at least an hour on Saturday educating both the patient and her son, who was going to be helping her with the medications. On Sunday the patient had discharge orders and was going home with oral diabetic medications, long acting insulin, and sliding scale insulin. Throughout the weekend Ashlyn had been working with the patient on checking her glucose with the glucometer provided by case management, as well as administering her own insulin injections. At the time of discharge, Ashlyn spent almost two hours in the patient's room going over the disease process, diet, and medication with her and her family.
After the patient left, the family felt uncomfortable at home administering the insulin shot, so thefamily called the nurse's station and asked to come back and talk to Ashlyn. They arrived and Ashlyn took them back to a room and spent an additional hour educating the patient and her family. By the time they left, the patient felt comfortable with checking her glucose and administering insulin shots. They were confident they could provide the care she needed at home. I believe Ashlyn delivered excellent, compassionate care for this patient. She was committed to ensuring the patient understood her disease and how to manage it, despite the communication barrier. She truly embodied what it means to be an extraordinary nurse.
Each staff member who encountered the patient did their best to educate her, however, Ashlyn went above and beyond. Ashlyn cared for the patient the weekend her discharge was expected. She spent at least an hour on Saturday educating both the patient and her son, who was going to be helping her with the medications. On Sunday the patient had discharge orders and was going home with oral diabetic medications, long acting insulin, and sliding scale insulin. Throughout the weekend Ashlyn had been working with the patient on checking her glucose with the glucometer provided by case management, as well as administering her own insulin injections. At the time of discharge, Ashlyn spent almost two hours in the patient's room going over the disease process, diet, and medication with her and her family.
After the patient left, the family felt uncomfortable at home administering the insulin shot, so thefamily called the nurse's station and asked to come back and talk to Ashlyn. They arrived and Ashlyn took them back to a room and spent an additional hour educating the patient and her family. By the time they left, the patient felt comfortable with checking her glucose and administering insulin shots. They were confident they could provide the care she needed at home. I believe Ashlyn delivered excellent, compassionate care for this patient. She was committed to ensuring the patient understood her disease and how to manage it, despite the communication barrier. She truly embodied what it means to be an extraordinary nurse.