February 2022
Paula
Aragon
,
MSN, RN, CNL, OCN, PCCN, CHPN
Nurse Educator PCU
UC San Diego Health, Jacobs Medical Center
San Diego
,
CA
United States
Her leadership and her connection with the patient and family made everything possible for the patient and the family.
Paula has been an effective clinical nurse leader on 5G. She works hard to meet the needs of the patient and the staff while collaborating with different teams, especially in Palliative Care. We had a patient who has been here for several weeks battling breast cancer. Paula was able to create a personal bond with the patient and the family. The patient's daughter was supposed to get married and the patient wanted to be there. However, the patient was in too much pain and was given only weeks to live. The daughter requested that she be married to her fiancé while her mother was still alive. Paula coordinated with Risk Management to get approval for the daughter, the fiancé, their own officiant, and 2 of the patient's sisters to be present for the wedding. Patient experience even brought up a bouquet of flowers for the wedding. We had the wedding in the patient's room. The patient was in extreme pain and could not be moved. She was present for her daughter's wedding although she was sedated because of the pain. The daughter was appreciative of all the team effort and the leadership of Paula to coordinate the wedding. The patient eventually passed away almost a week later peacefully. Paula made a huge impact on that family's life. Her leadership and her connection with the patient and family made everything possible for the patient and the family. We need nurses like Paula who go above and beyond to make a difference in the lives of the patients and families that we care for.