Christine received this DAISY Award in recognition of the professional maturity and genuine compassion she displayed while caring for a young female patient. The young woman was sexually assaulted at a college party while she was intoxicated and was suffering from pseudoseizures because of the trauma she endured.
Sometimes, pseudoseizures are referred to as seizures people fake to get attention. Christine recognized that this was not the case with her patient, but that the young woman was displaying a post-traumatic stress response and required close neurological and psychiatric monitoring. Christine set up the room with seizure precautions (oxygen, suctioning, bed padding) to show the patient and family that we took these pseudoseizures seriously and would protect her in the event she experienced one. Later in the shift, she did.
Christine stayed by the patient's side for the better part of an hour holding her hand and talking to her without knowing if the patient was aware of her presence. She applied oxygen to help her breathe and kept her covered with heavy blankets to promote a sense of protection. Christine remained calm during the patient's crisis and gently assured her, in every way that she could, that she was safe. As in-patient nurses, it's not every day we are faced with treating a patient's mental health. It's usually last on a long list of priorities. Not only did Christine tend to her patient's psychological needs, she did so compassionately, completely, and without judgment.