Katherine Mcallister
November 2024
Katherine
Mcallister
,
RN
Nursing Resource Office
Liberty Hospital
Liberty
,
MO
United States
Her calm and reassuring demeanor never changed. In talking with me, I could see her knowledge of my situation, her dedication to her patients and her job, along with her knowledge of the cardiac field.
It’s refreshing when you meet a healthcare professional who combines natural abilities and personal traits with the skills of the trade. Kathrine McAllister is one of those rare and special individuals. It is because of the care she provided that I want to nominate her for The DAISY Award. The best way to describe her would be to tell you about my visit to the Cardiovascular/ Heart floor at Liberty Hospital, where she works.
My stay was required since earlier in the day, a colonoscopy healthcare worker detected my heart had a fast pulse, was fluttering and I had A-Fib. Not a good combination, especially since I was feeling no symptoms and didn’t know how serious this was. The Liberty Hospital Emergency Room confirmed the diagnosis from earlier in the day and admitted me to 3rd floor Cardiology for tests and treatment.
First impressions mean a lot to me, especially in situations where there are unknowns, and I am trusting my care to someone to help me. As I exited the elevator onto the 3rd floor, Katherine was waiting down the hall with a smile on her face outside my room. That first greeting, combined with her immediately asking what I needed and then explaining what I could expect in my health care and the plan of attack to get me well, eased my mind and gave me relief.
She explained the medication that I was getting and the purpose for giving it to me. She told me it was a slow process with the goal of getting my pulse back down to 60. Hopefully, the heart would reset itself at that time, but if not, there was the option of shocking the heart back to normal. Because of her calm, reassuring demeanor and showing empathy toward me, I knew I could trust her with my care. She ended her first visit by making sure I had ordered dinner since I got there just before the cut off time for ordering. Sometimes, the little things mean a lot. With each visit during the 3 days as my daytime nurse, Katherine would always visit my room, greeting me with a smile. I was told the reason for her visit, she would give me a progress report on where I was toward getting well and she would listen to any concerns I had.
On the second day, when my Systolic blood pressure reading dropped to a concerning level, she came in and informed me that she would postpone giving me my medication for a few minutes until she could make a call to the doctor to ask them for guidance. She did that and promptly came back into my room to tell me that she was told to stop giving me the medication at that time. It showed me that she was proactive in addressing an issue so it didn’t possibly turn into something more serious. That same morning, she came in and asked if I had seen the heart doctor. When I said no, she said she would make sure they came to see me, which they did. Though Katherine was not working on Monday when they shocked my heart back into rhythm and corrected the A-Fib situation, she had given me the confidence to know that the procedure had a good chance of being successful.
To recap and further state why I am nominating Katherine, I want to say that she was always proactive and not reactive to any situation. The follow-up to requests and situations was exceptional. Her calm and reassuring demeanor never changed. In talking with me, I could see her knowledge of my situation, her dedication to her patients and her job, along with her knowledge of the cardiac field. She combined all that with a terrific combination of personal traits. Those are showing empathy, projecting an honest, genuine, caring, and trustworthy approach, and having an open, outgoing personality whom you can easily connect with. And Katherine was always positive, upbeat and never judgmental. Though I may never meet Katherine again, since I hope I never have to experience heart issues like that again, I will always consider her my friend for the impact she made on me in those 3 short days. She is truly an exceptional nurse.
My stay was required since earlier in the day, a colonoscopy healthcare worker detected my heart had a fast pulse, was fluttering and I had A-Fib. Not a good combination, especially since I was feeling no symptoms and didn’t know how serious this was. The Liberty Hospital Emergency Room confirmed the diagnosis from earlier in the day and admitted me to 3rd floor Cardiology for tests and treatment.
First impressions mean a lot to me, especially in situations where there are unknowns, and I am trusting my care to someone to help me. As I exited the elevator onto the 3rd floor, Katherine was waiting down the hall with a smile on her face outside my room. That first greeting, combined with her immediately asking what I needed and then explaining what I could expect in my health care and the plan of attack to get me well, eased my mind and gave me relief.
She explained the medication that I was getting and the purpose for giving it to me. She told me it was a slow process with the goal of getting my pulse back down to 60. Hopefully, the heart would reset itself at that time, but if not, there was the option of shocking the heart back to normal. Because of her calm, reassuring demeanor and showing empathy toward me, I knew I could trust her with my care. She ended her first visit by making sure I had ordered dinner since I got there just before the cut off time for ordering. Sometimes, the little things mean a lot. With each visit during the 3 days as my daytime nurse, Katherine would always visit my room, greeting me with a smile. I was told the reason for her visit, she would give me a progress report on where I was toward getting well and she would listen to any concerns I had.
On the second day, when my Systolic blood pressure reading dropped to a concerning level, she came in and informed me that she would postpone giving me my medication for a few minutes until she could make a call to the doctor to ask them for guidance. She did that and promptly came back into my room to tell me that she was told to stop giving me the medication at that time. It showed me that she was proactive in addressing an issue so it didn’t possibly turn into something more serious. That same morning, she came in and asked if I had seen the heart doctor. When I said no, she said she would make sure they came to see me, which they did. Though Katherine was not working on Monday when they shocked my heart back into rhythm and corrected the A-Fib situation, she had given me the confidence to know that the procedure had a good chance of being successful.
To recap and further state why I am nominating Katherine, I want to say that she was always proactive and not reactive to any situation. The follow-up to requests and situations was exceptional. Her calm and reassuring demeanor never changed. In talking with me, I could see her knowledge of my situation, her dedication to her patients and her job, along with her knowledge of the cardiac field. She combined all that with a terrific combination of personal traits. Those are showing empathy, projecting an honest, genuine, caring, and trustworthy approach, and having an open, outgoing personality whom you can easily connect with. And Katherine was always positive, upbeat and never judgmental. Though I may never meet Katherine again, since I hope I never have to experience heart issues like that again, I will always consider her my friend for the impact she made on me in those 3 short days. She is truly an exceptional nurse.