September 2018
Brianna
De la Cruz
,
BSN, RN
ICU
Aya Healthcare
San Diego
,
CA
United States
Brianna cared for a critically ill patient whose personal treatment wishes were different from what her children wanted. Brianna went to the patient's bedside to have a conversation during this difficult time. During that conversation, I could see how much the patient trusted Brianna and how she looked to her for support to express these difficult wishes. I was very concerned how the patient's children would handle this information, but Brianna facilitated the process seamlessly; I could really see the rapport she had developed with this family. She asked the teaching staff for time for the patient to have a private conversation with her children and was such a compassionate support system for all of them. She had the teaching staff come back in afterward to answer questions and address concerns. Based on all of this, the patient, with the support of her children, made the decision to change her code status to DNR/DNI. The interactions I witnessed this weekend were very special and I know they meant the world to the patient.