That was my answer when the Hill Country Middle School students asked me what I loved most about my job during this year's career fair. There are so many things to love about nursing. I tried all the floors of the hospital, like getting certified in chemotherapy and learning advanced cardiac life support. I couldn't learn enough in that first year. I wanted to explore cardiology, pharmacology, emergency, neurology, oncology and then: I met Trauma.
Trauma surgery had everything I ever wanted. In trauma, you embrace the unknown. Some injuries you can see, and others just show up later. Some injuries develop as you go, and you have to make adjustments to the treatment plan.
I remember we had a patient that came to us after a car accident with some obvious external injuries; broken bones, cuts from glass and a large bruise on her abdomen. We will call her Maya. As we were getting her cleaned up, we distracted her with conversations about her sweet new puppy and jotted down her mom's phone number to let her know she will need to let the dog out. A few minutes passed, and Maya told me she had just got a new puppy and she was worried the dog would need let outside. I reassured Maya we were dog lovers and that puppy would be fine as I simultaneously flashed my penlight in her eyes to notice a subtle change. Her pupils were not responding to light like they were before. I alerted our trauma team and we rushed her to get a CT scan. Maya had suffered a concussion in the accident and the swelling in her brain was causing a shift and increased pressures. Every minute matters in a traumatic brain injury. I assisted the neurosurgical resident as she placed a catheter in Maya's brain. Maya recovered quickly, and I got to meet the puppy! I will always remember Maya.
I will approach our school district with the same level of care and consideration. I see what is on the surface but I know to look deeper at every issue. While we have so many things that are working great in our district, I am also cognisant that issues develop, just like injuries, and we have to evaluate and make adjustments.
I'll admit: the shift from trauma nursing to legal nurse has been great, but I miss my trauma days! I love using the aquired knowledge from those experiences to defend healthcare providers, but nothing beats getting in there and doing the work! I saw interest spark in the 8th graders eyes when I answered, "I save lives" and I hope they feel inspired to get out there in the world and do the same.
Because what we do next matters, and a trauma nurse is always ready.
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