Julia Chesterman
January 2024
Julia
Chesterman
,
RN
PICU
Hackensack University Medical Center
Hackensack
,
NJ
United States

 

 

 

Julia was patient and was able to connect with the boy through therapeutic communication with him. Julia sang songs to calm him while redressing his head.
A blind, autistic teenager with an EVD continuously kept trying to pull out the drain. Earlier in the day he had punched another nurse in the face so everyone was very hesitant to even enter the room. He ripped off the dressing covering his whole head about once or twice every hour. Julia was patient and was able to connect with the boy through therapeutic communication with him. Julia sang songs to calm him while redressing his head. It may not seem like much, but in just one shift, she did that dressing 11 times, each taking 15-20 min, and then proceeded to do that 3 nights in a row with zero complaints. No matter how many times or how difficult the patient and situation was, she did not lose sight of what was best for her patient. No matter how many times or how exhausted she was, Julia was able to calm the boy down and keep him safe. She is the only reason that EVD stayed in the patient and he was able to get the care needed for him to get better. And she did it all while smiling, singing, clapping, and comforting her difficult and violent patient. She is the kind of nurse every child deserves when in the hospital.