January 2012
Tina
Coakley
,
RN
3JCW-Pediatrics
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
Iowa City
,
IA
United States

 

 

 

Tina Coakley, who works on 3JCW, was nominated by patient who noted Tina as a positive role model, a nurse who exhibits excellent communication skills, and a professional who is consistently caring and compassionate. Tina's nomination reads as follows:

Recently, I spent 15 days on 3JCPW as a patient. During that time I received great care from many nurses although 1 of the nurses I had a couple of times went above and beyond. Tina Coakley deserves to be recognized for her outstanding bedside manner. She first cared for me the following night after I had 4 major surgeries in 1. She had to get me out of bed to take a few steps and so they could clean me. She never hesitated about doing so but rather sat me up, clipped my catheter bag on her and got me out of bed. I was still very weak and couldn't stand on my own.

I remember moaning in pain as I hugged her and she helped me walk a bit. Instead of complaining about holding me up she simply let me rest my head on her shoulder as she rubbed my back and talked to me.

For some reason I did not sleep much after surgery and remember the rest of that night well. She came in at least every half hour and every time she did I had a new question for her about what had happened to me. As my mom slept on and off in a chair at my side, Tina comforted me the whole night. She never was annoyed with me bothering her, instead she sat on the side of my bed rubbed my arm and answered all of my questions.

I was also in a lot of pain and uncomfortable that night and I remember her trying everything she could think of to help me. My neck and back hurt quite a bit and I remember her giving me a neck and back massage at least a couple of times to help ease the pain. My mouth and throat were also extremely dry and she was patient enough to keep feeding me a sponge with water.

Though that was one of the worst nights of my stay in the hospital, it is also one of the best memories. The following days even if I did not have her as a nurse she would at least stop in and say hello which also meant a lot to me. On my final day in the hospital I was extremely happy when 7am came and in walked Tina. She had a great personality and was cheerful and perky the whole time. Basically she planned something for me to do every hour when she would come in and I liked that method because she was taking charge to get me up and doing things since I had been lying in bed too much. She would also make it her job to instead of just telling me to drink lots of fluids she would bring them in and stand there until I would drink something. She took me to the tub room and patiently helped me inside of the bathtub. Instead of just telling me to clean myself she washed my hair and helped clean me up. Getting up out of the tub I also managed to get her quite wet but she never said a word about that.

That night when I was finally discharged she even wheeled me out to my car and helped me get in. I have dealt with UIHC my whole life with a lot of health problems but I have never had a nurse like her. This is not to say that the other nurses were not good. I experienced many other great nurses, just to name the ones I can remember; Danielle, Megan, Kayla, Amanda, and a couple of others whose names I can't remember were also provided great service all in their own ways which I will never forget!