In December I had a left total hip replacement. For many months I struggled with the decision to have this surgery. As a practicing RN myself, I knew what the surgery and rehab entailed. The thought of me being a patient was difficult to imagine. While the entire staff at Pennsylvania Hospital treated me with respect and demonstrated incredible professionalism, Gabe stood out among all of the interactions I had at The Pennsylvania Hospital.
Upon admission to 7 Cathcart, the first thing that struck me was Gabe's demonstration of caring and compassion. As an RN myself, I understand the many tasks that need to be completed when a surgical patient is admitted. In addition to the tasks at hand, there are other tasks and patient needs to attend to. When Gabe walked into the room I immediately felt at ease. He was completely present and vigilant in caring for me. He stayed with me for what seemed to be quite a while until I was comfortable and his assessment was complete. He focused on was I was saying to guide the care he was providing. He left to get medication and came right back. He always answered my call bell in person, not over the intercom and intermittently checked in on me frequently. He not only addressed me, the patient, but my husband and daughter who stayed with me in the room all the while providing support to them as well. His demeanor was that of gentleness and competence. Additionally, I saw that he had a good rapport with his co-workers and was very polite and respectful to them as well. I immediately trusted him and felt comfortable with him as my nurse.
One example of how attuned he was to me by listening and not just going about the many tasks at hand was when I began to have severe spasms at the surgical site. The door was shut and my daughter, who is also an RN, was at my bedside. I was crying because the pain was just too much to bear. I, however, being the person that I am, was trying to be stoic and not call Gabe. I felt I would be a bother because I knew it was towards the end of his shift and he was wrapping things up for shift change. At my daughter's insistence, I rang the call bell. He came in and saw I was in distress. He asked questions about my pain and intuitively knew I was trying my best to be brave. The simple words he spoke gave me permission to accept the help he offered. He said, "Listen, today is not the day to be brave. Let us take care of you." It was such a simple thing to say but it was profound for me. He created a healing and safe environment for me to begin to rest and heal.
Another example was when he took the time to stop everything he was doing to sit with my husband to explain why my blood pressure was low and what the plan of care would be. I understood why and I explained this to my husband, however, what my husband needed to hear and see was Gabe, my primary RN, explain this. Gabe very plainly explained everything in a way my husband could understand. Gabe looked him in the eye, answered all his questions and took as much time as was needed to make my husband feel confident in the care I was receiving. My husband commented that he felt heard and respected by the time he took to explain everything.
In my humble opinion, Gabe delivered exceptional care. I could have been just another ordinary hip replacement that he sees day in and day out. He provided extraordinary nursing care. What Gabe demonstrated and delivered is beyond what is taught in nursing school. As a young nurse, he exhibited an enormous amount of compassion, respect, and professionalism in both the art and science of nursing. I feel very lucky to have had Gabe as my nurse at admission and discharge.