WORK EXPERIENCE, RESIDENCY, AND INTERNSHIPS
Cardiovascular Acute Care
At the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City, I work as a Cardiovascular Nurse in the Cardiovascular Acute Care Unit. Here, I care for patients with unique and diverse needs as I coordinate care with the Cardiology, Cardiothoracic, and Vascular teams.
In CVAC I am frequency running drips like nitroglycerin, dopamine, and milrinone. I titrate heparin and complete ECG interpretations daily. I am constantly communicating with the teams, passing on acute patient condition changes and providing the occasional suggestion during rounds. Here, I am no stranger to operating under stress - rapids and codes occur and acting quickly and thoughtfully is expected. I work as a member of a high functioning team and am constantly learning.
Patients here need close supervision as they frequently come straight to our floor from surgery or the CVICU. Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement, Endovascular Aortic Repair, Pacemaker, and Carotid Endarterectomy patients come straight to CVAC post procedure. Sending patients to, and receiving patients from, the Cath Lab is a daily occurrence.
POST BACCALAUREATE NURSE RESIDENCY
The Department of Veteran’s Affairs Post-Baccalaureate Registered Nurse Residency is a nationally accredited nurse residency program with locations across the US. From July 2023 until July 2024 I took part in this unique, competitive and educational program.
For me, the highlight of this residency was working in the ICU for 8 months. Here, in 1 of 5 VA Cardiac Transplant Centers across the entire US, I gained skills and knowledge regarding cardiac medications, anatomy, and post op recovery. I worked with open chests, vents, VADs, CRRT, and many other machines and patient conditions during my time here. I also completed a 12 week ICU education course which dove into advanced cardiac topics and took me through many different simulations. Working and learning in the ICU sparked a passion in me to pursue critical care as my career progresses.
During my other 4 months of the residency I rotated between units at different intervals as a sort of truncated orientation. During my time on each unit, I also worked with a preceptor who taught and guided me. I completed rotations with Telemetry, Med-Surg, Post-Surg, PACU, OR, GI, IR, Inpatient Psych, CNO, SDS, Blood Lab, Infection Prevention, Primary Care, Cath Lab, EP Lab, and the Emergency Department. In each unit I became familiarized with their equipment, their processes, and their staff. As a result of the many locations I rotated through, I have a very holistic understanding of the hospital.
20% of the residency included a didactic portion. Part of this included a 10 week Emergency Department course, a 12 week ICU course, and weekly meetings with my supervisor regarding veteran centered care, patient advocacy, and self-care.
Having completed the residency I gained skills applicable to any unit, improved my nursing soft skills, and am ready to take on leadership roles on any floor.
VALOR PROGRAM (S.T.E.P.)
At the Salt Lake City VA Hospital, I spent over 400 hours in various units gaining valuable experience as a student nurse from July 2022 to July 2023. This is the only accredited student nurse residency in the state of Utah (CCNE).
While working as a VALOR student I rotated through the OR, Telemetry, ICU, Acute Medicine, and PACU. I worked on hard skills like IV starts, pump management, ECG interpretation, charting, and medication administration. I also improved soft skills necessary for nursing like time management, patient prioritization, working as part of a team and learning when to ask for help.
The VALOR program also includes a didactic section with a dedicated master preceptor. I completed the ICU training class with all its associated lectures and simulations at the VA. I learned advanced nursing physiology relevant to the ICU environment, took part in simulations that tested skills, and had the opportunity to listen to guest lecturers who are experts in their field.
CAPSTONE SPRING 2023
I was placed at the VA MICU/SICU for my Spring Capstone. I worked for 200 hours under a dedicated preceptor and was introduced to the complex environment of the ICU.
I was introduced to many pieces of equipment and skills. I gained familiarity with vasoactive titration, central line management, arterial line management, moderate sedation, post operative patient management, advanced airway use, cardiac monitoring/pacing, blood product administration, ventilator management, CRRT implementation, and chest tube/CDU management.
Another important part of my time in the ICU was spent working with other team members. I became accustomed to working closely with providers and reporting patient status changes. I learned how to work as part of a code team, give rounding updates, and advocate for my patients.
I truly enjoyed my time in the ICU, and while I still have much to learn, look forward to furthering my experience in critical care.
MA/AEMT
From September 2020 to September 2021 I worked as a dual role MA II and AEMT in the outpatient Kidney and Liver Clinic at the University of Utah Hospital.
I was assigned to 3 providers. My responsibilities included creating the providers’ schedules, following up after patient admission, assisting patients with medication filling, and informing the providers of any patient status changes.
My role also included taking patient vitals during scheduled visits, conducting blood draws, and responding to in-unit emergencies. This could look like post-transplant patients experiencing rejection or an anemic ESRD patient experiencing hypoxia. In these scenarios it was my responsibility to identify an emergency, call a rapid response, start an IV, inform the provider, and ensure patient safety until the arrival of the rapid response team.
I frequently encountered patients emotionally distraught about their diagnosis or at odds with a busy provider’s schedule. I provided support and diffused many a tense situation.
AEMT
Gold Cross Ambulance was my first true healthcare job. I worked for GCA from June 2018 to September 2020 when I began my job with the Kidney and Liver Clinic.
As an AEMT working in the City 2 area of downtown Salt Lake City, I served as a primary on BLS calls and secondary on ALS calls where SLC FD responded with us. Scenarios and calls were diverse and unique. I responded to motor vehicle accidents, assaults, intoxication via various substances, police standbys, fires, and the occasional odd and unexpected call.
During BLS calls we would arrive, clear the scene, and document patient signs and symptoms. The patient would then be safely loaded into the ambulance. During the ride to the nearest hospital I would provide the patient with basic care and further document symptoms. On arrival at the hospital, I gave handoff report the the assigned ED nurse and answered any questions the staff had.
AEMT
I worked as an AEMT for Utah Jazz games and events from January 2020 till the Jazz outsourced in arena care in March 2021.
Working in the arena during games was an exciting and, at times, chaotic experience. I reported for work an hour prior to the game at the first aid clinic. After checking and stocking supplies, I was placed on a team and assigned to one of the levels in the arena.
One of the greatest challenges of the job was staying aware and observing for emergencies in the loud and busy environment of an NBA game. Picking through the crowd to get to a patient and listening for radio traffic as an announcer blared overhead was certainly a learning experience.
Patient conditions were extremely diverse. Usually calls were scrapes and alcohol intoxication, but occasionally seizures and heart attacks occurred. In these more serious calls, myself and the team would transport and keep the patient stable till the arrival of EMS.
rEMOTE MEDICNE INTERN
Working as a Remote Medicine Intern with Mountain Education and Development was a unique and valuable experience. I took on this internship as part of my final project before graduating from the University of Utah in Spring 2018.
From the beginning of April till the end of May 2018 I designed, presented and taught a wilderness medicine course to a group of mentors in the Dominican Republic.
This team took underprivileged youth from the rural areas of the D.R. and gave them a summer of fun while teaching them lifelong skills like leadership and teamwork. Because of the remote nature of their work, Mountain Ed was hired to certify all mentors as Wilderness First Responders. As an Intern I distilled Mountain Ed’s WFR textbook and used my Spanish skills to design a course for the mentors. I then flew to the D.R. and presented the course. Part of the course was didactic, the other hands-on. I gained valuable education experience and had a chance to improve my Spanish.
Registered Nurse - License #: 13398776-3102
Advanced EMT
PALS
ALS/BLS
Basic Disaster Life Support
Advanced Disaster Life Support
Crucial Conversations
Crucial Accountability
Outdoor Emergency Care
Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician
High Angle Rescue
Advanced High Angle Rescue
Avalanche Rescue
AIARE II
Swift Water Rescue
