Hometown (where you live now): Saint Paris, Ohio
Job title: ICU Staff RN
Where do you work: Riverside Methodist Hospital
Describe what your day is like/what you do: A typical day at work is a lot more stressful than it used to be before the pandemic. As nurses we are used to being able to come and go out of the patient's rooms as many times as we need to in order to obtain the supplies to take care of the patients. With these patients being in special precautions and requiring extra gear for us nurses to put on in order to go in the room, it is important to make checklists and gather everything that is needed. It never fails when you go in the patient's room you have forgotten something or the doctor has put in new orders. The new way of communicating with one another is a knock on the glass door and either a thumbs up or talking through the crack in between the doors. It definitely takes a team to care for these patients and my team on 4Blue at Riverside is knocking it out of the ballpark.
Health Care Hero: ‘I became a nurse to make a difference’
What inspired you to get into health care? The No. 1 thing that inspired me to get into health care is being able to make a difference in people's lives. This includes not only the patient I am caring for but also their families.
What's a memorable experience you've had in health care? There are many memorable experiences that come to mind through my nine years of nursing and with the last six of them being in the ICU. They all come back to being able to put a smile on the patients' faces, whether it be just holding their hand and listening to their stories, or being with their families at bedside while their loved one takes their last breath.
Health Care Hero: ‘I really love my job’
What do you want readers to know about your job right now? Working on the front lines in the COVID ICU is not an easy feat during this pandemic. These patients come in as a stable admission, and before long, we are putting lines in them and getting them flipped to their belly. The things that we are used to doing for our typical ICU admissions are not helping these patients. We as nurses are FaceTiming with the patients' loved ones as they are taking their last breaths, and we are holding the tears back because this is not easy on us either. We are all in this together. Just remember to remain six feet apart and only go out if it is necessary. Working on the front lines of the COVID pandemic, I can tell you that this is real life and can happen to your loved ones at any time. COVID does not discriminate on age, sex or ethnicity.
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