Pathways to Palliative Care

It's Not About the Gravy: Emily Olson, APRN CNP MSN ACHPN

Cory Ingram, MD MS FAAHPM

On her third consecutive night of call as a newly minted nurse from Winona State University, Emily Olson found herself answering the call light of a 40-year-old lady with a hematological malignancy. "My food arrived without the gravy!" the patient exclaimed. Her first nursing job on the oncology ward at Mayo Clinic set her problem-solving mind in motion, prompting Emily to go to the employee cafeteria to get a serving of gravy for her patient. Upon returning to her patient's room to deliver the gravy, the patient expressed her appreciation by saying, "You know, it's not about the gravy." In fact, Emily did know it wasn't about the gravy but rather the human-to-human interaction grounded in caring for one another.