My Other Life

Here is me with some of the residents that just graduated, from left Mike, Me, Elmo in front and Doug on my left (Elmo is the nickname, his name is Alan ;-)

As you may or may not know I am a Registered Nurse. I specialize in Pediatric Emergency Medicine, and I have been an RN for 10 years. For the past 4 years I have worked in Pediatric Emergency but I have been at the Golisano Children's Hospital At Strong / University of Rochester Medical Center for 10 years. I've worked in Orthopaedics, Pediatric Intermediate Care and now Peds ED.

I work 20 hours a week there and I cycle through burnout every now and then. There have been many times I have only worked 4 hours a week. But since I have stopped working 12 hour shifts, I only work 2 X 8 hours and a 4 hour shift through the week..... I have fallen back in love with it.

People are often stunned that with all that I do...... I still keep my career as a nurse. I am BLESSED to be a nurse because I want to be, not because I have to be. The U of R Medical Center is a Level I Trauma Center and one of Rochester's largest employers. It might be the largest one.

The benefits to being a nurse there are awesome. By working 20 hours a week I get full medical benefits (which I don't use but I have in case...), and I get to attend the University of Rochester FREE. Not reimbursed, not 1/2 way...... but 100% FREE. That's my #2 reason for working.

My #1? Well it has a few parts to it. Being a nurse allows me to give back. Too easily my life can and has become all about triathlon, which is my passion. But if I make my passion everything..... then it starts to lose it's allure. Nursing helps me keep my balance, and part of that balance is being able to give back to the world.

In some children's day I am the kindest person to them. That's giving back, as sad as that may be.

I continue to be a nurse because I am good at it and I love what I do. If it is your child who has been in an accident and needs an IV right now..... you'd better hope I am good at what I do. I am good at IV's, I can think quick on my feet, and at the same time I think my best quality is easing fear.

Crying children do not bother me. I could sleep in a room full of screaming kids. In my world if your child cries, that means they have fight. Fight in my world is a really good thing. The children who terrify me are the ones who are under 5 years old who allow me to stick a needle into their arm and don't move. THOSE kids are the ones to worry about. Crying means clear lungs and crying means fight, quiet makes me nervous.

I work with an incredible team, some of whom are pictured. The RN's and the doctors work as a team,. There is no hierarchy. Whether you are a housekeeper, a patient care technician, a nurse, a resident, fellow or attending...... we are all equal. We work together. You want to see team work? Watch us in action.

I get close with the residents because in so many ways they grow up with us. They come as wide eyed medical students and interns, and four years later they leave as full fledged doctors. The things I teach them and the things they teach me along the way are priceless.

Here is a picture of my favorite place, the helipad:

This is on the top floor of the hospital and where the helicopter lands. Ever see that episode of ER where Romano got his arm cut off? In a hot unload that can happen. I tell the new kids to keep your hands in and your head down.

The other day we had a hot unload which means there's another helicopter waiting to land. Until the chopper lands we stand inside the building and we wait. In the event that the chopper crashed I stand by the "oh shit" button, which if pressed causes the helipad to become engulfed in foam. I hope to never use it.

When the pilot summons us a nurse and a doc bring a stretcher out to the chopper. The patient is unloaded from the back and we bring them back inside. While the flight nurse gives report to the doc, if the patient is conscious I make eye contact with them and tell them what is happening. This is the most important thing I can do for them. Being 8, 10, 12 strapped to a stretcher poked with needles, flown through the air in the belly of a chopper is terrifying. So as I assess them my first priority is to ease their fears.

Then we bring them down to the trauma bay where my job as the nurse is to get an IV, draw labs, get the patient on a monitor, draw meds that need drawn..... it seems chaotic but it's very orderly and fast. My priority remains eye contact with the child and easing fear.

Many times the doc's and I can communicate without talking. Sometimes things get wild. One time I remember years ago having to straddle a patient in a CT scanner squeezing blood into the child because they were bleeding as fast as I could get the new blood in. I rode the stretcher down to the OR..... the panic of those situations does not slam into you until the door of the OR is closed and you are standing there.

Whoosh.

Some of the situations I have been in..... I just can't believe. Riots, terminal diagnoses, rude parents and rude children. Young girls who have been assaulted, you name it.... we have seen it.

There are bad parts of this career, there is heartbreak. There is death. Know that as pediatric nurses and doctors we cry. We cry pretty hard. We never give up. EVER.

Not too long ago we got the call on the batphone that we get every now and then. The batphone is the phone the EMT's use when they are bringing in a critical patient. We usually have warning, sometimes we don't. I remember the doc repeating into the phone..... "How Old? CPR in progress?" and before he could hang up the phone we were in the trauma bay and ready to go. The 10 minute wait was eternity but know that we were ready and we were armed.

Know that if I am walking to the parking lot and a call for a peds trauma comes in I turn around and I run back. Know that I will never leave your child just because it's time for my shift to end.

That's why we work where we do. We are a team, we know what we are doing, most importantly we love what we do.

I am currently working on my Masters of Nursing degree which will then deem me a Nurse Practitioner. Three years to go. What will I do with it? Who knows. I may stay in Emergency Medicine forever, definitely in pediatrics. Most likely part time because it is a hard job and burnout is high.

Nursing gives me balance. It allows me to give back. I have absolutely job security, and I work with one hell of a team. It's an honor to be a part of the Pediatric Nursing Team in the Peds ED. Trust me, this is the group you want should your child ever have an emergency. Of course I hope never to see you but if I do....... everyone is a VIP to us.