I Am a Critical Care Nurse Daisy Ann R. Fabian, RN, CCRN, CMC, CSC, is

a staff nurse in the cardiothoracic/transplant ICU at the University of Chicago Medicine, Chicago, Illinois.

Why did you become a nurse? My mother always wanted to be a nurse and her dream influenced me to go to nursing school. What about your job as a nurse makes you happy? Positive feedback from my coworkers and heartfelt gratitude from patients and their family make me very happy to be a nurse. Also, I think it is so rewarding to take care of the sickest patients in the unit and help them recover. Tell us about an extraordinary experience you’ve had as a critical care nurse. I took care of a female patient who had postoperative complications after a simple valve replacement. She was bleeding to death and was acidotic. I worked hard, transfusing 34 bags of blood in 6 hours, until the surgeon decided to bring her back to the operating room. The next night, this patient had disseminated intravascular coagulation and I had to transfuse another 24 bags overnight. The complications continued for days and weeks, and so did the nursing care. The patient’s family asked me to take care of her every time I came to work for almost 2 months. This patient is now back on her feet and is recovering well with her supportive family. What are the challenges you encounter and how do you overcome them? Work can be stressful and patients’ expectations can be high, but if I get frustrated, I remind myself ©2014 American Association of Critical-Care Nurses doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4037/ccn2014201

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that all situations are fixable. With a seasoned and strong team and a supportive unit manager, I know challenges can be met and dealt with in the best way. Also, at my unit’s breakfast club, we vent our frustrations and laugh out loud, which is so important. Then we go home and come back the next night for more. What has your journey as a nurse been like? Phenomenal! The test requirements just to come to the United States, the long waiting process, and the job search were the bottleneck of my career. I am so thankful I made it. I eventually found my comfort zone in the intensive care unit (ICU), where holistic nursing care is needed to care for critically ill patients. Now I work at a bigger institution and in the cardiothoracic/transplant ICU where I belong. At the end of a busy day, how do you find balance in your life? I unwind by indulging in shopping therapy and cooking good food. I often bring the results of my cooking to work so I can share them with my coworkers. I hang out in Barnes & Noble to do homework, and I love to go to the gym, even when life gets really busy. I like to pretend that there are more than 24 hours in a day! What would we be surprised to know about you? I competed in the US Open for table tennis 3 times, and I still play in table tennis tournaments. Another hobby of mine is painting with oil pastels. How has AACN played a role in your career? I am so proud of my 3 certifications: CCRN, CMC, and CSC. I enjoy reading the journals and taking the free CNE tests on the AACN website. I try to attend every NTI conference—it is always such a positive experience to connect with so many critical care nurses who are fully committed to their jobs. Attending NTI also gives me the opportunity to discover new technology, to find job opportunities, and to get a peek into the future of medicine. CCN I Am a Critical Care Nurse features the extraordinary in a critical care nurse’s ordinary experiences. To be featured in this department, contact Critical Care Nurse via e-mail at [email protected].

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