Tessa advocates for all her patients. As a charge nurse for most of her shifts, she advocates for every patient in the department. A recent patient really stands out. The adolescent patient had an extended length of stay in the ED due to multiple circumstances. Tessa and the patient really bonded. Tessa spent time reassuring the patient that he should believe in himself and that although he had made some bad decisions, those bad decisions did not define who he was going to be.

Tessa spent time helping him do homework, specifically writing rap songs and stories. Tessa recognized boredom and brought the patient a very large LEGO set for the patient to work on. Staff were amazed at how much the patient enjoyed working on the LEGO set and how he would spend hours on the tedious project. The patient was excited to send Tessa pictures of the progress. I also witnessed Tessa using her lunch break to help him work on the project.

On the day of discharge, the patient made it a point to have me tell Tessa goodbye and thank her for being so nice to him. Tessa made a difference in this patient, and I am confident he will never forget her kindness