Mindy Burley
June 2015
Mindy
Burley
,
RN, BSN
Pediatrics
UC Davis Medical Center
Sacramento
,
CA
United States
It takes a lot to make an experienced nurse stop in her tracks and say "Wow! That is amazing!" but this story of Mindy Burley, RN, BSN, and she did just that.
The story begins on a beautiful spring day, a large extended family gathered to enjoy a birthday celebration for a very special boy. His beloved grandfather took him on a tractor ride to end the day of celebrating with some special time for just the two of them. Bliss and smiles soon turned to tragedy and screams. The boy had slipped from his seat and the tractor mangled his body, broke his bones and chewed up his flesh. The fertile soil made his wounds severely contaminated, and his extensive injuries threatened the loss of his life. He was flown in to our PICU and received excellent care from an extensive team in order to save his life.
Needless to say this boy and his family were living a nightmare. Mindy entered their lives with her calm and confident caring when he was transferred to the Pediatric unit for ongoing care and treatment. Many surgeries followed his initial arrival (at least eleven) to repair his multiple broken bones, contaminated wounds. Mindy was able to establish a caring relationship with both the patient and his family. They would trust her implicitly, even when therapies would cause anxiety or pain. Their trust in Mindy and her excellent communication transferred that trust to the other members of the nursing staff. This shared trust enabled the patient to receive excellent care from all who he encountered and decreased the anxiety and stress for both him and his family.
The day came for him to be transferred to his insurance approved hospital for ongoing, less specialized care. This hospital was another 30 minutes away from home for him and his family. It provided a different model of nursing care. The unknown was very stressful, understandably, for both the patient and his family. Communication, discharge summaries, copies of records etc. were exchanged to facilitate the transfer of care. Had the story ended there, it would have been an example of everyday excellence. What happened next made it extraordinary.
The day of transfer was Mindy's day off. Mindy met the nurses of the receiving hospital in person on their unit and reviewed the patients' unique needs and convinced the nurses that she would be an asset in helping them settle the patient into his new room. She showed them how he preferred to be touched, moved and positioned. She discussed his personality and preferences. She reviewed his complex lines, wounds, and care needs. This resulted not only in less pain and stress for the patient and family, but for the new hospital care team as well!
His family has maintained ongoing contact with Mindy, providing her progress reports knowing she is, like they are, very proud of his every achievement and celebrates his progress as he adjusts to a new way of living.
The story begins on a beautiful spring day, a large extended family gathered to enjoy a birthday celebration for a very special boy. His beloved grandfather took him on a tractor ride to end the day of celebrating with some special time for just the two of them. Bliss and smiles soon turned to tragedy and screams. The boy had slipped from his seat and the tractor mangled his body, broke his bones and chewed up his flesh. The fertile soil made his wounds severely contaminated, and his extensive injuries threatened the loss of his life. He was flown in to our PICU and received excellent care from an extensive team in order to save his life.
Needless to say this boy and his family were living a nightmare. Mindy entered their lives with her calm and confident caring when he was transferred to the Pediatric unit for ongoing care and treatment. Many surgeries followed his initial arrival (at least eleven) to repair his multiple broken bones, contaminated wounds. Mindy was able to establish a caring relationship with both the patient and his family. They would trust her implicitly, even when therapies would cause anxiety or pain. Their trust in Mindy and her excellent communication transferred that trust to the other members of the nursing staff. This shared trust enabled the patient to receive excellent care from all who he encountered and decreased the anxiety and stress for both him and his family.
The day came for him to be transferred to his insurance approved hospital for ongoing, less specialized care. This hospital was another 30 minutes away from home for him and his family. It provided a different model of nursing care. The unknown was very stressful, understandably, for both the patient and his family. Communication, discharge summaries, copies of records etc. were exchanged to facilitate the transfer of care. Had the story ended there, it would have been an example of everyday excellence. What happened next made it extraordinary.
The day of transfer was Mindy's day off. Mindy met the nurses of the receiving hospital in person on their unit and reviewed the patients' unique needs and convinced the nurses that she would be an asset in helping them settle the patient into his new room. She showed them how he preferred to be touched, moved and positioned. She discussed his personality and preferences. She reviewed his complex lines, wounds, and care needs. This resulted not only in less pain and stress for the patient and family, but for the new hospital care team as well!
His family has maintained ongoing contact with Mindy, providing her progress reports knowing she is, like they are, very proud of his every achievement and celebrates his progress as he adjusts to a new way of living.