A REFLECTION OF 41 YEARS AS A NURSE...

41 years of impact....

Recieving my diploma in December of 1981

As of June 1st 2023, I have 41 1/2 years of service as an RN at Mayo Clinic.

Through the years I have been impacted by many things...

Patients, Doctors, Co-workers, & Technology to name a few...

In the course of those 41 years, I have changed jobs at Mayo 6 times

Most of my career at St. Mary's hospital, 4 years at Methodist Hospital and then

finally at Mayo herself where I ended my career as a nurse.

Where Mayo meets Gonda

The IMPACT is not on what I may have done in my 41 years of nursing, 

but the IMPACT nursing has had on me.

I thought about breaking this up into 2 different posts, but it needed to flow, so here it is.

 I hope you enjoy reading a little bit about my career as a nurse.

As I ponder over my career I find it interesting and want to reflect on the 

IMPACT the various jobs have had on me as a person, and on my profession. 

My first Love was Cardiac!

 I found myself right out of nursing school in the Cardiac Surgical ICU. 

This was back in the early 80's when heart transplants at MAYO were a new thing.

This was also the beginning of computer charting, and pumps that ran by computer, talk about a learning curve. Looking back I'm glad I knew both ways. I actually had to figure things out in my head, like calculating a drip rate by watching each drip as it came out of the IV bag and then figuring out how many drips equalled how much drug was being given, therefore giving the correct dosage....   I also had to chart pressures & vitals every 15 minutes on a fresh cardiac post op, including,  RA, LA, CVP, blood gas analysis and so forth. Not to mention blood loss and replacement, all the while watching the Monitor for arrythmia's, adjusting drug drips to stabilize heart rates and blood pressures AND keeping the patient from pulling out their 'breathing tube"....I hated when that happened. Today everything is run by computer, that can be good (mostly good), but sometimes bad, like when "the system" is down....UGH

IMPACT... I had to learn fast, and think big.

 My 2nd job was in the Neurosurgical ICU

I was there for 2 1/2 years.  I only left Cardiac because I had my first baby, and took 5 month off to be home with her. That was too long for them to hold my job, so I had to find another one when I came back from maternity leave.  All I can say is it was a totally differen't ICU experience. Less intense, less monitoring, essentially no codes, less stressful, opposite of what I had just experienced in the 

Cardiac ICU. It was just ok, I stayed there until my 2nd baby came along.

IMPACT... A new thing to learn about... the world of Neurology.

My 3rd job was my most favorite of all, once an ER nurse, always an ER nurse.

16 years of Emergency room nursing. 

 For most of my nursing career I was an ER nurse.

 I was saving lives,  reacting to screeching alarms, juggling drug drips and blood transfusions. 

I've even reached into a patients chest after it's been cracked-open by the trauma surgeon,

 to plug a gushing hole in the heart, from a stab wound.

We didn't think twice about what to do for a Trauma Code or Code 45, we have to be fluent when it came to knowing what drug to give, how much, and in what order to give it 

during an emergency situation.

Thats the STRONG and BRAVE and CONFIDENT of a nurse, but we must not forget the...

COMPASSION, KINDNESS and UNDERSTANDING!

Through multiple trauma's, death and cardiac arrests, I felt heartache and grief right along side families, even though it might sometimes appears to be a stoic calm. 

You see nurses work with an air of competence, and readiness to adapt to ever-changing situations. Most patients and their families won't see the emotional loss that we are experiencing right along side of them, it's usually on the way home in the car that we lose it. It's after the fact when we can let it all out, after we no longer having to worry that our skills would be affected from an emotional lapse, 

so we wait and grieve later....when we have time.

IMPACT... It's here where I learned confidence, and leadership.

My 4th job,  The Recovery room.

PACU (post anesthesia care unit)

It was at this time when I broke away from my 21 years at St. Mary's hospital and moved 

downtown to the Methodist campus.

Here's where we prepped patients for surgery and then took care of them after.

I found this to be a frustrating job for the most part.  

 Most of our time involved  management of pain and nausea, it seemed to be an endless battle! 

I admire the nurses that work with patient immediately after surgery, there's never a dull moment, patients never stop coming from the OR's, it's a whirlwind...

 In my opinion it is one of the most physically and mentally places to serve as a nurse.

IMPACT... I learned what "Busy" really was! Time management was my friend.

My 5th job, Interventional Radiology- Sedation nurse

Worst job in my career for many reasons, but I stuck it out for 7 year!

I will not go into detail, as it could go long, and stirs up bad memories! 

Lets just say I loved taking care of the patients, it was just the disrespect recieved from the physician group....I'd never seen anything like that.

IMPACT... It's hard for me to find any good that came from this long 7 years in my nursing career!  Lets just leave it with this,  I loved those patients, 

 a deeper sense of empathy started to develop within my soul.

We had to wear heavy lead aprons during the procedures, because of all the radiation.

A few of my old friends in Interventioal Radiology, 

we also had worked together in the Emergancy room, and a  few of them worked in other areas with me as well throughout my career

My 6th and final final job as a nurse

Lumbar puncture Nurse

Some may relate more to the term, Spinal Tap. 

Yes, we the nurses perform this highly technical procedure on all outpatients at Mayo. The Minnesota Board of Nursing has given it's blessing as we are the only RN's in the U.S. to perform this task. (so my supervisor has told us) I feel privileged and humbled everyday. The folks we do this procedure on are usually not hearing good results, as most of our testing confirms those dreadful neurological diseases such as ALS, MS,  Encephalitis, & CIDP, cancer, auto immune diseases, etc. The procedure is not as painful as most anticipate! A frequent comment by the patient following the tap is usually this... 

"Oh, wow you are really done, I didn't even feel that, it's not as bad as I had expected", 

those were beautiful words to my ears.

Sadly a few patients had experienced... "the inexperienced", that can make for a rough experiance.

I would always reassure them and remind them, this is our job...this is all we do.

I recently read an article from Heathline.com that says this about Lumbar punctures...

"Entering the spinal canal with a needle requires expert knowledge of the spine's anatomy and a clear understanding of any underlying brain or spinal conditions that might increase your risk of complications from the procedure" I humbly agree!

There are exceptions, when a patient has a "difficult back", we struggle, but we usually get the job done and the patients are thankful.

In addition to the outpatients diagnostic LP's, we also help with research, accessing that space where the spinal fluid is and then the doctors takes over to inject stem cells, or study medications. We occasionally have to travel a floor below to perform a LP on a sedated patient.

I Loved this job, there are only 7 of us. Despite our unique personalities, 

we strive all get along, and work pretty well together,

MY People.... I miss them

IMPACT... This job has made me a more compassionate nurse! 
 It has built humility and strengthened my confidence in knowing that 
I am trusted to perform this highly technical procedure. 

Throughout the 41 years of nursing,

I have cried with my patients, wiped their tears, laughed with them, held their hands and prayed with them. 

I have received hugs that don't wanna let go, firm grip handshakes, kisses on the cheek and pats on the back.

...but there is another side to my career, and I can speak for many. 

This profession is not for the weak of heart!  

We have been up to our elbows in every body fluid possible, 
we've been spit-at, swung-at, swore-at and threatened. 
 We've desperately worked to save lives, to make split-second decision, 
we have those "gut feelings".... we all know "that feeling", and we act on it! 
We are sometimes the last voice or last touch a person experiences before they die...
these are the hard things.

We are nurses, the backbone of the hospital, the patients advocate and friend. 
We encourage, reassure, and 
sometimes have to use a bit of tough love. 

Here's what I did on my way to work each morning I prayed for my patients! I prayed that my smile and reassuring voice give them a glimmer of hope. I prayed that I could be a light, a presence of peace in their hectic day. I hoped to reassure them, listen to their stories and care for them during a time of uncertainty and fear.

Once a Nurse....always a nurse

Now on to retirement

Retirement post coming soon