Christina Nightengale
May 2021
Christina
Nightengale
,
RN
DaVita Rising Tide Division
DaVita Bon Secours Acutes
Richmond
,
VA
United States

 

 

 

Christina's diligence in listening to the patient's family member changed the course of this patient's treatment.
Christina was assigned a home hemo patient for ultrafiltration who was in fluid overload, on 10L oxygen with trach collar, needed frequent suction, and had just come off of levophed from chronic issues with BP. During machine set up, Christina began to change the dressing and found that the skin was eroding away from the cuff. The cuff was fully visible and turning brown. Christina finished changing the dressing and informed the hospital staff and nephrologist of her findings. The Wound Care team came in to assess the wound and a new CVC was ordered to be placed. When the patient’s daughter was called for consent, she asked what was wrong with the CVC since it had been flushing well at home. When the patient's daughter arrived, there were a few conversations about what happened with her mother’s CVC. After explaining the condition, she started to feel bad. Christine explained she had done nothing wrong and showed her what a normal CVC site should look like. The daughter said, “oh, it never looked like that”. Christina told her that her mother’s recent confusion could be a sign of an infection, and educated her on what to look for during dressing changes from now on. The daughter felt much better. Christina learned additional information from the daughter that contributed to a change in the patient's plan of care. Christina's diligence in listening to the patient's family member changed the course of this patient's treatment.