I had the pleasure of witnessing Ginia provide compassionate and personalized care for a patient during several dressing changes. The patient was extubated and weaned off all sedation earlier in the day, so he was awake and able to express his feelings, specifically regarding the pain he was enduring when I arrived for my shift that night. The patient conveyed feelings of pain every time I touched him, whether it was repositioning or giving him a bath. He was unable to swallow any oral medications for pain because the speech-language pathologists had not yet come to evaluate him, and it was nighttime, so I had the provider order IV pain medications. I told the patient I needed to change four of his dressings because they were a week old and he immediately groaned and tensed up. I gave him the pain medications prior to the dressing changes and asked Ginia to help me.

During the dressing changes, the patient cried in pain despite the medications. We took several breaks to help calm him, but what Ginia did exemplified exceptionally empathetic patient care. Ginia pulled out her cell phone and asked the patient what his favorite songs and artists were. She played his favorite songs during the dressing changes to help distract him from the pain. I left the room momentarily to grab extra sterile gloves, and when I came back to the room, I witnessed Ginia and the patient singing and dancing together. It almost brought tears to my eyes. The patient was so distracted by listening to his favorite songs that he had not heard in over a week of being intubated and sedated that he was able to get through all four dressing changes without moaning or crying. When all the dressing changes were done, Ginia still left her cell phone and played music with the patient to help him sleep. Ginia's act of selflessness by leaving her cell phone with the patient for almost the entire shift is the epitome of compassionate patient care.

It was such an honor to see Ginia offer a non-pharmacological pain intervention to a patient who was critically ill. Her action highlights the importance of recognizing sympathetic care, serving as a reminder that patients are people with personalized needs despite being in a critical care environment. Ginia's ability to connect with and comfort the patient during an incredibly arduous time epitomizes the foundations of compassion and kindness as a core of nursing.