February 2016
Justin
Henson
,
BSN, RN, CCRN, TNCC
Medical Intensive Care Unit
University of New Mexico Hospitals
Albuquerque
,
NM
United States
Justin, not long ago you cared for a patient who was struggling with end-of-life complications. While she was DNR/DNI, her family had been pursuing treatment of her cardiopulmonary symptoms. When you arrived in the morning, you assessed her condition and seeing how compromised she was, recognizing her worsening symptoms and the suffering she was experiencing, you called her family and asked them to come in. What followed was a day of thoughtful, compassionate, collaborative care while you advocated for the patient's needs and helped the family makes informed decisions. The family members called on me to express their appreciation of your professionalism, your extraordinary care, and your compassion toward them and their mother. They were profuse in their appreciation, telling me how glad they were that you were caring for their mother that last day. Thank you for bringing excellent care to the bedside every day in MICU.