Corinne Hunter-Stephens
January 2018
Corinne
Hunter-Stephens
,
RN
Medical Renal
Morristown Medical Center
Morristown
,
NJ
United States

 

 

 

Corinne Hunter-Stephens is one of the go-to people on the night shift. She approaches any issue in a straightforward way with no judgment. One night she met one of our patients, a 46-year-old female who was actually known to the unit for several reasons that we cannot share. This patient has been declining in health and was in the hospital for a longer stay and had several episodes of calls to RRT. Everyone that she knew who visited her had one thing to say, "I give up. She won't listen to any of us. She needs to fix her attitude and admit she needs help. She was always there for everyone and she still thinks she has to be, but she needs to help herself now or she will get worse." Corinne visited her daily and talked to her at length allowing time to develop trust and rapport. She did this even when she was not assigned to her. At times she was just there to listen. She suggested adding this patient in the Integrative Medicine daily visits to encourage relaxation and healing. After several days of talking to Corinne, having her IM treatments, the "motherly" matter-of-fact approach helped, and Corinne suggested a Psych consult to manage her mood and allow her to change her perspective of being the constant caregiver to others to one who needs caring herself. This patient was evaluated by Psychiatry and saw counselors and was provided with medication management. The patient's condition improved daily and she was able to find hope, healing, peace and the acceptance of self-care. She was able to go home with outpatient services and returned to work full time within 2 months. She sometimes visits us in K4 to say hi and to thank Corinne for her honesty, persistence and non-judgmental way of allowing her to see the truth about her issues and allowing her to face it with strength and hope. We are honored and are very lucky to have Corinne as one of our night leaders.