The night began like every other night on our unit, extremely busy. Some nurses were receiving bedside report, while others were discharging or admitting patients. Kathy was one who received an admission from the emergency department right after receiving shift report. I assisted Kathy in drawing labs on this patient when I noted the following:

Shortly after the patient arrived she became tearful and was very upset. Kathy asked her coworkers for their assistance in monitoring the rest of her patients, because she anticipated being in this patient's room for an extended period of time. She then entered the patient's room and closed the door and proceeded to sit bedside the patient, informing her that she was there if they needed to talk. There was a brief period of silence, but then the patient began expressing her concerns. Her mother was recently deceased; she had a lingering illness with frequent relapses and children at home with no support system in place. Kathy listened carefully and when the patient was done venting she assisted the patient in contacting her siblings, who arrived shortly after the phone call. She requested a social worker consult and notified the physician, requesting a mental health consult as well. The patient hugged and thanked Kathy for making her feel like she was the only patient Kathy had, although she stated she knew from previous experiences this was not the case. Before leaving the patient's room Kathy made sure her phone number was written on the white board and instructed the patient to call her if she needed anything at all.

Kathy then proceeded to apologize to the rest of her patients for any inconvenience they might have experienced while she was busy with another patient and the night continued on!