Northside Hospital patient Danielle Jarlock will never forget nurse Victoria “Tori” Tester.
Danielle was in Northside’s High-risk Perinatal Unit for the third time in several weeks being monitored for pre-eclampsia with the pregnancy of her twins.
On Jan. 20, 2016, after her bloodwork came back, doctors decided to do a C-Section. Her baby boys went to NICU after delivery, and Danielle wanted to prepare to see the rest of her family. Tori and a nursing assistant were on hand to help.
They discovered Danielle was bleeding, and Tori rushed to bring it under control. She called in back-up – a doctor and four nurses – and reassured Danielle in a very scary situation.
Danielle was rushed into the operating room where the problem was fixed. But she says she knows, without Tori’s keen eye and help, it could have gone much differently.
Danielle remembers that Tori came later to check on her. “I will never forget her,” she says of Tori.
Here’s more about Northside’s Victoria “Tori” Tester, 29, in her own words.
Current position: RN in high-risk perinatal. We take care of expecting moms who have pregnancy complications and moms who have delivered who experienced complications.
How long have you worked at Northside? Four years. This was my first job out of nursing school.
Education: Received my Bachelor of Science from the University of South Carolina Aiken, Class of 2013
Family: husband, Shawn Tester, and our fur kids, Milly and Kitty.
I got into nursing because I enjoy helping others, helping them understand what is happening and their plan of care.
The best part of my job is getting to see patients who had a very stressful pregnancy and/or delivery have a great outcome.
The most challenging part of my job is not being able to help patients who have outside stressors. Most of our patients do not plan to be hospitalized while pregnant or right after they just had a baby. They have jobs, families to care for and other responsibilities that they cannot manage while in the hospital.
How do you handle stress?
Working out. It is a great stress reliever.
What do you do for outside fun?
I enjoy traveling with my husband and spending time with friends
and family.
What piece of advice would you give a new nurse?
Don’t be afraid to ask questions.
Describe one of your most meaningful days as a nurse.
I had a patient who was about 30 weeks pregnant, and her water broke. She went into labor and had to be transferred to Labor and Delivery very quickly/ It seemed like 500 things were going on at once. I could tell she was scared, and I did my best to explain what was happening and what would happen when she was in Labor & Delivery. I never saw her again, which is normal. She wrote me a letter and brought it back up to the floor weeks after she delivered — letting me know she and baby were OK. I will never forget her. She thanked me for how calm I was and how I explained the unknowns to her to ease her anxiety about having a baby early.
