After being a nurse here at Children's National Health System for nearly 15 years, I never expected to be a parent on the other side of the bed. Spending 6 days in the hospital bouncing between ER, PICU, SCU, OR, PICU and back to SCU was an eye-opening experience, to say the least.
On our first day coming from the PICU to SCU we were assigned, Glenna. Glenna, simply put, is amazing! She made us feel as though my child was her only priority. She was responsive and swift with all requests and needs for my son. She spoke directly to him, asking him about his needs, thoughts, and concerns. She made him feel as though he was part of the team, part of informing the decisions and he had some control in his care.
The entire experience was overwhelming for my husband and me, yet Glenna made us feel comfortable and informed of the plans. She was empathetic to my son's situation and went above and beyond to make the experience the best possible. My son was definitely not thrilled to be at the hospital, but Glenna did her best to try to connect with him and provide care that was geared towards his likes and needs. We were lucky enough to have Glenna for 3 days in a row.
One example that impressed me about Glenna was her ability to escalate and communicate her concerns about my son's changing status. When I brought a concern to her, she had the physician to the bedside assessing and making a plan for my son moving forward. Her ability to articulate and drive the conversation with the physician was most impressive. Glenna even checked in on my son later in the week when she wasn't his nurse, which was so kind and caring of her.
I feel so lucky to have had Glenna as my son's nurse on SCU. I know that it couldn't have been easy for her being a new graduate nurse just 6 weeks off orientation and caring for a fellow colleague's child, but she did so with such grace, professionalism, and clinical command.