I Am a Critical Care Nurse Connie Paine, RN, CCRN, is a staff nurse in the intensive care unit at UCSD/Thornton Hospital in La Jolla, California.
Why did you become a nurse? I am the oldest of 13 children, so I think I have always been a caregiver. From a very early age I knew I wanted to be a nurse. What about your job as a nurse makes you happy? I love it when patients who have been critically ill recover and come back to visit the nurses who took care of them. It is so gratifying to see them walk into the unit. Also, since I moved to a university hospital 2 years ago, I have a renewed enjoyment of the learning process and how we can all work together to benefit patients and their families. Tell us about an extraordinary experience you’ve had as a critical care nurse. Everyday seems extraordinary. After 40 years of being clinically active I still enjoy what I do, and I love when a patient or family member asks me, expectedly, “Will you be back tomorrow?” Many years ago, we had a patient who came in with a myocardial infarction. She was taken to the catheterization laboratory, but was returned to our unit when it was determined that her disease was too extensive for any intervention. Her physician told the family she had only a few hours left to live, because her heart rate and blood pressure levels were critically low. We encouraged her whole family to hold vigil at her bedside. The family circled her bed and sang hymns. Another nurse and I were watching the patient’s vital signs at the monitor in the nurses’ station and we were in awe to witness the patient’s heart rate and blood pressure levels rise to stable levels as her family sang to her. She was discharged to home the next day and died in the comfort of her home 1 week later.
©2014 American Association of Critical-Care Nurses doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4037/ccn2014449
96
CriticalCareNurse
Vol 34, No. 4, AUGUST 2014
What are the challenges you encounter and how do you overcome them? A big challenge is that so many people are poorly prepared for death. I don’t think we address this topic often or timely enough as clinicians. Our hospital has a palliative care team, which is very helpful in discussions with families, but, more importantly, nurses on our unit are working on a project to make end-of-life decisions an earlier part of goals of care. I think the results of this project will be a step in the right direction for patients, their families, and the medical staff. What has your journey as a nurse been like? I have met the most amazing people including patients, families, and the many nurses and physicians I have had the privilege to work with during my years as a nurse. At Christmas time, I still hear from patients I took care of up to 35 years ago. At the end of a busy day, how do you find balance in your life? I like to hike the trails around San Diego, take Zumba classes, and sing (I was a member of the San Diego Sweet Adeline chorus for 35 years). I also like to travel. This summer I will be going to Cape Cod, where one son is coaching sailing, then flying to Kauai to meet my husband, who is sailing solo to Hawaii from San Francisco. I hope to get to Europe soon to see my other son sail in Spain and France. He is on the US Sailing Olympic team and hopes to sail in Rio in 2016. What would we be surprised to know about you? I have won several blue ribbons for my baked goods at the county fair. Also, I was a wallflower, very shy and quiet, in my youth, which will surprise people who know me now. How has AACN played a role in your career? I put off being a CCRN for a long time, but now I am very proud that I have obtained that certification and I will continue to encourage other nurses to get certified too. 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].
www.ccnonline.org
Copyright of Critical Care Nurse is the property of American Association of Critical-Care Nurses and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
Why did you become a nurse? I am the oldest of 13 children, so I think I have always been a caregiver. From a very early age I knew I wanted to be a nurse. What about your job as a nurse makes you happy? I love it when patients who have been critically ill recover and come back to visit the nurses who took care of them. It is so gratifying to see them walk into the unit. Also, since I moved to a university hospital 2 years ago, I have a renewed enjoyment of the learning process and how we can all work together to benefit patients and their families. Tell us about an extraordinary experience you’ve had as a critical care nurse. Everyday seems extraordinary. After 40 years of being clinically active I still enjoy what I do, and I love when a patient or family member asks me, expectedly, “Will you be back tomorrow?” Many years ago, we had a patient who came in with a myocardial infarction. She was taken to the catheterization laboratory, but was returned to our unit when it was determined that her disease was too extensive for any intervention. Her physician told the family she had only a few hours left to live, because her heart rate and blood pressure levels were critically low. We encouraged her whole family to hold vigil at her bedside. The family circled her bed and sang hymns. Another nurse and I were watching the patient’s vital signs at the monitor in the nurses’ station and we were in awe to witness the patient’s heart rate and blood pressure levels rise to stable levels as her family sang to her. She was discharged to home the next day and died in the comfort of her home 1 week later.
©2014 American Association of Critical-Care Nurses doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4037/ccn2014449
96
CriticalCareNurse
Vol 34, No. 4, AUGUST 2014
What are the challenges you encounter and how do you overcome them? A big challenge is that so many people are poorly prepared for death. I don’t think we address this topic often or timely enough as clinicians. Our hospital has a palliative care team, which is very helpful in discussions with families, but, more importantly, nurses on our unit are working on a project to make end-of-life decisions an earlier part of goals of care. I think the results of this project will be a step in the right direction for patients, their families, and the medical staff. What has your journey as a nurse been like? I have met the most amazing people including patients, families, and the many nurses and physicians I have had the privilege to work with during my years as a nurse. At Christmas time, I still hear from patients I took care of up to 35 years ago. At the end of a busy day, how do you find balance in your life? I like to hike the trails around San Diego, take Zumba classes, and sing (I was a member of the San Diego Sweet Adeline chorus for 35 years). I also like to travel. This summer I will be going to Cape Cod, where one son is coaching sailing, then flying to Kauai to meet my husband, who is sailing solo to Hawaii from San Francisco. I hope to get to Europe soon to see my other son sail in Spain and France. He is on the US Sailing Olympic team and hopes to sail in Rio in 2016. What would we be surprised to know about you? I have won several blue ribbons for my baked goods at the county fair. Also, I was a wallflower, very shy and quiet, in my youth, which will surprise people who know me now. How has AACN played a role in your career? I put off being a CCRN for a long time, but now I am very proud that I have obtained that certification and I will continue to encourage other nurses to get certified too. 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].
www.ccnonline.org
Copyright of Critical Care Nurse is the property of American Association of Critical-Care Nurses and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
