By Kayley Mendenhall
The Bulletin: bendbulletin.com
"A nursing shortage has gripped the nation for years and has hit home with more than 100 nursing vacancies advertised in recent months by Cascade Healthcare Community, parent company of St. Charles Medical Centers in Bend and Redmond. Local medical officials, state and national experts agree that a gap in available education is part of the problem."
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By Terrance Ito, RN, BSN, CEN
Founder, Nurses-Forum
A mysterious yet disrespected field in nursing is that of the CCT (Critical Care Transport) RN. Often hospital nurses scoff the moment we enter. Believe me, I've heard it all. A counterpart once said that I was either a glorified EMT or a sub-standard nurse. Other occasions I was mistaken for a paramedic. I just point at my name tag. It funny when this happens, just like a deer caught in headlights. Why all the ignorance? My thought was that I had to bring to light the importance and value of the CCT RN.
Almost all CCT RN are veteran nurses from the ER or the ICU. Come on people, we definitely put our time in. The alphabet soup of certification we hold consist of ACLS, PALS, CCRN, CEN, TNCC, PHTLS, ATLS, and so on. While other nurses were having and enjoying their day off we sat in some hot cramped classroom in pursuit of infinite wisdom. Also, extensive training takes place before we are even allowed to come into contact with a patient. Classes stem from airway management, pharmacology, advance life support, managing portable ventilators to trauma protocols. I couldn't believe all the info they beaten into me, it was definitely mind numbing. All this information is drilled in until it can be repeated its repeated back to the instructor in a monotone zombied out voice.
The back of the ambulance resembles a compact ER. Being of Asian decent I felt flattered that they designed a workspace especially for me. Standard equipment entails IV pumps, pulse oximetry, monitor, airway equipment, and plethora of drugs. Almost all life saving procedure is provided here. A CCT RN is prepared for anything, so I was taught. It doesn't stop there, any equipment, and boy do I mean any equipment (I.e., balloon pumps, LVAD, etc.), no matter how archaic was along for the ride.
To make it out there a nurse has to be intelligent, witty, and quick on their feet. Unusual situation and circumstances are the norm. A solid foundation of critical care in conjunction with extensive training creates basically a nurse ready for anything and everything. Just remember you can never be ready for anything, I learned that lesson the hard way. However, the main goal is to keep continuity of care from the sending to the receiving hospital. In most cases patient care and outcome improves primarily due to the 1:1 ratio. Its an awesome profession devoting care to a single patient at a time.
Just remember its another thankless job, we are not special and are all on the same team. Our goals are the identical (get that patient away from us as fast as we can). So the next time a CCT RN crosses your path please show a little respeCCT.
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WHO'S PLAYING GOD? THE ROBERT FLORES IN US Terrance Ito is the founder of Nurses Forum and has over 10 years of experience in the medical field. His credentials include RN, BSN, CEN: experienced in emergency and critical care transport nursing in Los Angeles.
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