trauma nursing portland, OR

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Hi, I am a nursing student who is very interested in TRAUMA NURSING.... are there any trauma nurses out there that can give me some insight on a day in the life of a trauma nurse, thanks!!

Is there anyone in the Portland, OR area?

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Specializes in CTICU, Burn ICU, STICU.

Hello!

Well I can't speak to Portland OR specifically but can tell you I work at a level 1 trauma center and teaching facility-aka a large hospital that gets the sickest of the sick with lots of innovative implementations. The unit I currently reside in is STICU.

A typical day consists of getting shift report on my patients. Depending on their acuity I could either have 1 or 2 patients. I then begin the routine of assessing my patient, administering medications and tending to any unanswered questions from family, the healthcare team or specialists following that patient's case. Again-can't emphasize enough how big a role the nurse plays in facilitating team communication. That also goes for family, dealing with any family or patient psychosocial issues is an integral part in patient/nursing care.

As the shift progresses things (hopefully) settle down and the role I play as an ICU nurse is simple. "Maintaining perfusion and oxygenation". Making sure my patient remains safe and stable through a shift is not always an easy thing, bringing me to my next point as to why I love trauma nursing. The people I work with play a huge role, but the patient population is vast and diverse. On any given day you could see: Ortho traumas of all shapes and sizes, burns, septic patients, motor vehicle accidents, drowning, neurologically damaged patients (our unit recieves a fair amount of patients suitable for NSICU-bolts, EVD etc), surgical patients of all shapes and sizes (occasionally vascular cases, a lot of GI patients or liver/kidney/pancreas transplants), GI bleeds, GI resections and many of these patients are vented or are in traction. Often times things go wrong fast, really fast. So whisking patients to surgery within minutes of a change in symptoms or rapidly infusion boluses or high volumes of blood via a "Level 1 Transfuser" is not uncommon. If you enjoy a wide variety of patients with multisystem disorders with high doses of adrenaline, STICU is a good place for you. Hope that helps-but if you have more specific questions feel free to message me

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

are you talking about a trauma center ER? THe ICU/Trauma unit? or trauma OR?

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