Nurses drive change in healthcare practice. It is our responsibility and our duty to search for better ways to treat patients. We must take what we learn from past experiences and apply them to making the future better. 

One example of learning from the past was one that I experienced during my clinical rotations in pediatrics at CHOC at Mission. At this hospital, there is a program called Morbidity and Mortality or M&M. This program brings together all healthcare practitioners who collaborated on a single case to discuss what happened during that case and how care can be improved going forward. Not only is this an excellent way to debrief after a difficult patient scenario but it is a valuable learning opportunity. I had the rare opportunity to sit in on this case. 

The case in question was about a teenager who tragically lost their life in a surfing accident at a popular local beach. They were learning to surf when they were pushed under by a wave and hit the ocean floor. The impact caused the spinal cord to almost completely sever. It appeared as a drowning to first responders who arrived on the scene and immediately began chest compressions. Despite best efforts by first responders, circulation was not the issue, it was the inability to breath due to paralysis. 

Once this patient reached the PICU at CHOC, the hypoxic injuries were severe due to decreased blood circulation to the brain. Imaging confirmed that there would be no recovering from this type of extensive brain and spinal cord injury. The nurse and healthcare team provided comfort and counseling for the family as they decided what to do with their child who was being kept alive with the support of mechanical ventilation. The family made the difficult decision to participate in organ donation. 

One Legacy, an organ donation organization in Los Angeles, CA was contacted and the process of organ donation began. The case went from one focused on comfort care to one focused on making this family's last wish for their son a reality. 

I chose this story because it shows me how nurses are a major part of this collaborative process. Nurses, are in a unique position because they directly affect the lives of their patients through daily interaction and can use those experiences to change healthcare. This has shaped my view on nursing because I came into this profession with the drive to enact change but without a way how. This experience has given me both a way how and a reason why.