Shanna-Lee
Butler
October 2012
Shanna-Lee
Butler
,
SN1
Emergency
King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre-Jeddah
Jeddah
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

 

 

 

Shanna-Lee Butler clearly demonstrated to be the kind of nurse that we would like for our patients and their families.
Her first priority was my wellbeing. I had severe pain accompanied by nausea. She quickly took the necessary steps to get me medicated, and she followed up with re-assessment and when I had not been relieved adequately, she ensured that I was given additional medication until I had reached a comfortable level.
At the time an IV cannula was inserted and flushed with Normal Saline, I got a funny taste in my mouth. She explained that about 25% of patients experienced a taste when given Normal Saline as a flush. The way she explained that was so professional and made me very confident that I had been assigned a knowledgeable nurse.
It is not so much that she managed my pain and nausea or that she came across as knowledgeable that made me enjoy her excellent care. It was how she went about doing it. Her interaction with me and her attention to the small details clearly reflected her compassion.
Besides being my nurse she was also a preceptor. She was very professional in her way of orienting the new nurse without making it come across to me that it was a new nurse, but rather it appeared as if there were two nurses caring for me. She also demonstrated cultural sensitivity.
When it was time for me to go home she had already gone with my discharge medication slip to the pharmacy and got me a number, which made it easy for me to pick it up, and I could get home much faster.
Just before I left ER she reminded me to follow up with the out-patient department to get the underlying issue sorted out.
One additional aspect that I would like to mention is perhaps beyond the normal expectation of a patient, but nevertheless important to patient care. She clearly demonstrated that she knew about the unit goal objective of the labeling of specimens and was able to talk with me about this objective. That underlined for me that she is the kind of nurse who stays current and involved in professional practice improvements in the unit.
This nurse demonstrated to me the kind of nurses that the organization is proud of and trusts in the delivery of care to patients and their families, the kind of nurse who is one of the great staff needed to produce great outcomes in a world leading hospital on the Journey to Magnet Excellence.