Abigail Hoover
May 2024
Abigail
Hoover
,
RN
SICU
CHI St. Vincent Hospital
Hot Springs
,
AR
United States
I think it's one thing to take care of a patient and it's another for them to truly feel cared for. I got off that day and thought to myself, "I want to be a nurse like that."
I just wanted to highlight a nurse I worked with a couple of weeks ago.
I worked with Abigail Hoover in the ICU. I was sitting with a suicide patient who had no way of communicating verbally. This patient had a trach and a tube in his mouth, but by the grace of God, he still had full body movement and was alert and oriented. He had fired his previous nurse because, honestly that nurse had done the best he could do with lots of communication issues. That left the patient very agitated and frustrated. But when nurse Abby came in, she did everything right as far as introduction, explaining patient care, etc. I've worked beside some nurses who after 30 min of being in a patient room, they're a little upset about how much time was spent on one patient. But what I really want to point out is, I watched her take care of this patient for 1 hr 45 min if not a full 2. This is after she had already been in there several times throughout the night already. But during that hour, she was constantly suctioning, adjusting his pillows, etc. She found a better way for her to communicate with the patient. He had a lot of questions about his long-term abilities of what he had done, and she was very honest with him. She was able to make him laugh and find out information about his life. The way she took care of him was excellent, and not once did she have any frustration with the patient or all of the extra time, she needed to spend with the patient that night. After the patient had thanked her, she just was like "Sometimes, to take care of a patient, you have to really spend time with them." And she did! A lot. She really defined the word nurse for me. I think it's one thing to take care of a patient and it's another for them to truly feel cared for. I got off that day and thought to myself, "I want to be a nurse like that." The posture of her heart is amazing for our patients, and I do think CHI is lucky to have her. I know this message was long, but she really left such a lasting impression on me that I'm truly grateful to have experienced it.
I worked with Abigail Hoover in the ICU. I was sitting with a suicide patient who had no way of communicating verbally. This patient had a trach and a tube in his mouth, but by the grace of God, he still had full body movement and was alert and oriented. He had fired his previous nurse because, honestly that nurse had done the best he could do with lots of communication issues. That left the patient very agitated and frustrated. But when nurse Abby came in, she did everything right as far as introduction, explaining patient care, etc. I've worked beside some nurses who after 30 min of being in a patient room, they're a little upset about how much time was spent on one patient. But what I really want to point out is, I watched her take care of this patient for 1 hr 45 min if not a full 2. This is after she had already been in there several times throughout the night already. But during that hour, she was constantly suctioning, adjusting his pillows, etc. She found a better way for her to communicate with the patient. He had a lot of questions about his long-term abilities of what he had done, and she was very honest with him. She was able to make him laugh and find out information about his life. The way she took care of him was excellent, and not once did she have any frustration with the patient or all of the extra time, she needed to spend with the patient that night. After the patient had thanked her, she just was like "Sometimes, to take care of a patient, you have to really spend time with them." And she did! A lot. She really defined the word nurse for me. I think it's one thing to take care of a patient and it's another for them to truly feel cared for. I got off that day and thought to myself, "I want to be a nurse like that." The posture of her heart is amazing for our patients, and I do think CHI is lucky to have her. I know this message was long, but she really left such a lasting impression on me that I'm truly grateful to have experienced it.