I was working with Shelby in the pool in Cat 1. One patient was in for acute chronic back pain that was intractable. By the time Shelby came into work at 6pm, this patient had been waiting in the ED for approximately 17 hours. This patient needed a CT but was not able to stay still for the exam. Previous RNs took the patient 3-4 times to CT, and it took many efforts to try to allow the patient to tolerate the exam, including giving dilaudid, morphine, ketamine drip, etomidate with MD at bedside in CT as well. Despite these attempts, the patient was still unable to tolerate the exam.
When Shelby came on at 6pm, she made it her goal to get this exam done. I witnessed her in the patient's room for quite some time, discussing what would make the patient more comfortable. Eventually, she and the patient came up with a plan - she would play his favorite Motown music through her phone on full blast in the CT room, while talking the patient through the entire process using the overhead CT speaker. Shelby came back with the patient and reported that the CT was done. As she wheeled the patient back into his room, the patient said, "I couldn't have done it without her, she is an angel." After almost 20 hours, the CT was done and read, and the patient then got a bed upstairs.