Today I saw a team come together to care for a child in need, and one nurse who displayed actions not taught; they can only come from the heart. The Baptist ED clinical team, Security team, and RCEMS pulled together in ways I have not seen in a while. Late this morning, the Baptist ED received a patient via EMS. This patient was a young boy who was very much on the spectrum and was not very verbal.

This young boy was having a severe episode of overstimulation, causing him to be very violent. While this patient was screaming, kicking, spitting, and attempting to bite, it took 6 security officers, 4 nurses, a RCEMS, and me to control this young boy just enough to keep him and others safe. Unfortunately, the first parent who was with the patient upon arrival was too distraught to help our efforts.

This is when RN Tia Caulder first stepped in. Nurse Caulder quickly removed the parent and brought them to the main lobby area, where she found the other parent, who was much more composed and able to assist the team.

Recognizing this was key, as the young boy seemed to be feeding off the actions of the distraught parent, adding to the extreme stimulation this boy was already suffering from. Nurse Caulder then proceeded to get the things in place that were needed to safely manage this patient’s care.

The team did extremely well at relocating this patient to a bed in a room so that we could eliminate some of the stimulation and the clinical team could focus on his care. Once the individual was moved, this is when Nurse Caulder truly stood out to me. Amongst all the chaos of trying to manage the patient, Tia was calmly directing the staff to expedite the process.

This may not seem like much, but she did this all while talking to this young man in a manner in which he could understand, even through the augmented reality he was experiencing. The parent that had to be removed earlier was this young boy’s mother. In that moment, Nurse Caulder became more than just a nurse trying to help a patient; she was, in many ways, this boy’s surrogate mother.

While she never lost focus on the nursing duties and directing the team, she instinctually took on the role of this child’s comfort, his safe space, his attachment to the “real” world that he so desperately needed. I cannot imagine the fear and confusion this little boy had racing through his mind, but he had Tia to draw him back to where he needed to be.

Nurse Caulder reached into her heart and, with all the love of a mother, helped calm this boy by singing to him, helping him focus on this iPad, holding his hand, and talking to him to get him to just focus and calm his troubled mind. The love, patience, and care she showed this patient are not unlike those she shows every patient Nurse Caulder works with, but it was different, as this patient’s needs were different. She saw this and quickly adapted to what worked for this patient.

This is nothing a textbook can teach; there is no class or online module for this. These actions come from inside a person’s heart, and I am thankful that Nurse Caulder has that “it factor” in her heart. Not only did she help the patient, but she also helped keep the entire team safe.

I am so proud of her and grateful that she is the amazing nurse that she is for Prisma Health. We talk about connecting with our purpose, and our teams did just that. But the actions by Nurse Caulder are a prime example of what a nurse does every shift to help change and save lives.

 RN Tia Caulder is just amazing.