April 2017
Molly
Ihlendorf
,
BSN, RNII, CPHON
Hematology Oncology
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
Cincinnati
,
OH
United States

 

 

 

Molly is so fun, energetic, so personable and easy to get along with. Molly is the type of nurse you would want to orient you if you were new so you can grasp all the knowledge she has obtained while giving great quality care. I have talked with Molly before and she is absolutely a great nurse to work with for a 12-hour shift. I can come to her when I need help, I can ask real questions; she has explained what some of these diagnoses are and gives background information. I am a PCA so to have that coworker relationship, it makes me feel welcomed and encouraged to keep asking questions. I have never seen Molly out of character or having a bad day that would question what kind of person/ nurse she is. Even if we are tired or getting slammed on the unit, Molly always keeps her cool and she does it with a smile. She is a "go doer" in times of adversity, Molly is in the situation knees deep and still working, still doing what needs to be done. That type of nursing is hard to come by.
***
Molly does her best to make the best of the situation, she will joke or lighten the atmosphere of a room by being so positive that parents and the patient respond well. Molly tailors her care to how she relates to each patient. In this case: The patient was receiving a high-risk therapy drug and the patient kept yelling mean things at her mom. This went on for most of the day when the nurse saw mom crying in the family lounge, she went to comfort her with some advice. "She does a lot of things on her own time and I think people struggle to have the patience for that." After a few minutes of talking about how great the patient was, mom seemed to put her game face back on and be there for the not so great days.
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Molly is so cool that she even premiered in the Fall Risk Jiggy Video that we showed when it first came out. She used that opportunity to point out things not to do if you were a fall risk. She would follow along in the video. Not all educations are this fun but Molly is knowledgeable to adapt to each patient and family needs.
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We have one patient on our unit that has relapsed and has been to other hospitals for treatment, so the parents are very aware and attentive to exactly what the patient care is planned out day to day and collectively during their treatment here at CCHMC. Molly is on this patient's primary team because she will sit down with mom and dad and plan to the hour when certain medicines, chemotherapy's, dressing changes, line changes, etc. Molly can talk to her when she wants her down time and no one to disturb the family. The mom really trusts her daughter's core group of nurses and we really can see the relief when she knows her nurse will go over every single detail. Yes, it may be mundane and intense every day, hour, minute but if it helps the parents feel like they have control of the situation or it is able to relieve stress. I commend Molly for understanding her role in this.
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Molly always converses with parents and patients when planning out their care for today, she is open and flexible to try to give the family range and control on how they want to do their care. She also is very honest in if something needs to happen more timely than "waiting" or trying to do something else is just not possible, like dressing changes, line change, chemo starting. She makes more of a one to one connection by getting to know the routine of her patient's and families. She will remember a patient's dog or that the patient lost their tooth while inpatient. Molly is very creative and imaginative and does her best to incorporate that into her care. She has been here for 6 years and you can tell by her demeanor and attitude that she doesn't show fear or second guess herself in the presence of the family. It is a gift to acquire because our families are stressed enough as it is. Knowing that the nurse is secure, focused, and experienced can be reassuring to a parent to go to sleep and internally feel like they don't have to be awake for every second for their child's care. Molly is an absolutely great nurse!