Molly Rodahaver
July 2018
Molly
Rodahaver
,
RN, BSN
Medical/Surgical Oncology
Madigan Army Medical Center
Tacoma
,
WA
United States

 

 

 

Molly was taking care of a comfort care patient who had been on the floor for over 2 weeks without change. During her shift, the patient started showing signs of respiratory distress. Molly spent several hours going back and forth from the patient's room, trying all sorts of interventions that are normally therapeutic for the comfort patients. She was on the phone over and over with the doctor, suggesting new interventions to try, even researching different medications. Nothing was working. She collaborated with other nurses and ended up calling RT, who suctioned the patient. The doctor disagreed with the idea of suctioning, but family consented. The patient was notably more comfortable and less restless. Afterward, Molly and the doctor sat down on the phone with the head of palliative care and discussed ways to adjust the plan of care best for the patient's comfort. Molly was brave and innovative in her nursing care, going outside the box to treat the patient as she continually assessed and saw the patient was getting worse. She did not stop until she found an intervention that worked!