Whether you’ve dreamed of being a nurse since childhood or you’re considering nursing as a second career, there’s more to this rewarding field than flexible scheduling and competitive compensation. The FirstHealth nurses featured here have enjoyed diverse careers in many of the profession’s interesting and engaging clinical specialties.

You might consider Pat Young, R.N., a nurse of all trades. Throughout her expansive 40-year career, she has worked in a variety of medical settings, from obstetrics and medical-surgical to emergency services, ambulance transport, public health and coronary care.

“I’ve done almost everything but work in a nursing home,” she says. “When you work in a 50-bed hospital in a small town, everything is your job.”

Young joined FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital as an oncology nurse in 1990.

That eventually led to her current position in the Oncology Clinical Trials department, where she has skillfully managed patients and paperwork since 2001.

In this role, Young plays a pivotal role in the testing of new chemotherapy and radiation treatments in people with breast, prostate, lung and colorectal cancer. Between 35 and 40 clinical trials are open at one time, says Young, who coordinates and follows the care provided to nearly 100 study participants.

Some of Young’s other responsibilities include documenting and preparing blood, urine and surgical specimens (biopsies) for transport to research laboratories in other states; attending meetings of the hospital’s institutional review board, which oversees and ensures compliance with clinical research protocols; and preparing and submitting many different types of documents and regulatory reports.

“Every day is diverse,” she says. “No two days are alike. That’s one of the challenges of this role, because you don’t know ahead of time what’s going to happen.”

The excitement of the unexpected attracts other FirstHealth nurses to high-intensity specialties such as emergency services, intensive care, critical care transport and neurology.

Emergency medicine
“Emergency medicine is exciting,” says Ronda Haywood, R.N., an Emergency Department nurse at FirstHealth Montgomery Memorial Hospital. “Most every day, I learn something new, even after 25 years of practice.”

On any given day, Haywood’s responsibilities vary between staff nurse and charge nurse. As charge nurse, she triages patients as they arrive in the Emergency Department, assigns co-workers to exam rooms where patients will receive care and handles problems that arise throughout the day.

As staff nurse, she provides direct patient care. This may involve starting patients on oxygen, starting IVs, preparing patients for X-rays or other diagnostic tests, explaining procedures before they are performed, and coordinating admission to the hospital or preparing a patient for discharge.

Ronda Haywood, R.N., an Emergency Department nurse FirstHealth Montgomery Memorial Hospital, worked in the medic tent during the 2005 U.S. Open in Pinehurst.

According to Haywood, who works three 12 1/2-hour shifts a week, this nursing specialty requires excellent patient assessment and customer service skills, strong IV skills and the ability to think and respond quickly.

“Your day may start slowly, but it can turn around at any time,” says Haywood, who has worked at Montgomery Memorial her entire career. “Emergency medicine is unpredictable. You never know what will come in next or what kind of a day you’re going to have.”

Nicole Baker, R.N., is a neurology nurse in the Robins Intensive Care Unit at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital.

Neurology
Caring for people with head trauma and spinal cord injuries intrigues Nicole Baker, R.N., a neurology nurse in the Robins Intensive Care Unit of FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital. Her role requires a great deal of sensitivity and sympathy for patients and their loved ones.

“Patients arrive in the ICU unexpectedly,” says Baker, a former paramedic who joined FirstHealth in 1997 as a paramedic and then transferred to a nursing unit after graduating from nursing school in 2003. “Their families are frightened and not prepared for what has happened, but by being there, especially when the outcome is death, you can provide supportive care and soothe the family.”

On a typical day, Baker’s duties include conducting neurological assessments, administering medications, bathing patients and managing their pain. She maintains certification in pediatric advanced life support and advanced cardiac life support as a job requirement.

Critical Care
Jan Scholl, R.N., a critical care nurse in the ICU at FirstHealth Richmond Memorial Hospital, was drawn to her position by the opportunity to help stroke survivors and people with advanced diabetes, heart disease, congestive heart failure, chronic pulmonary obstructive disease and other life-threatening conditions. One of the biggest challenges for Jan is balancing the needs of patients who require constant one-to-one care with those who are less critically ill but still need personal attention.

“Our staff works together well, so there’s always an extra hand if you need help with your patients,” says Scholl.

Some of her typical duties include monitoring patients’ vital signs, administering medication, providing personal care, assisting with feeding, communicating with patients’ family members and keeping physicians informed of changes as well as caring for mechanically ventilated patients.

Jan Scholl, R.N., is a critical care nurse in the Intensive Care Unit at FirstHealth Richmond Memorial Hospital.

Donna Dow, R.N., EMT-P, is a clinical supervisor with FirstHealth’s Critical Care Transport Service.

Critical Care Transport
“I like taking care of very sick, very challenging patients,” says Donna Dow, R.N., EMT-P. “It’s an opportunity to use all the skills you’ve learned over the years—and every day is filled with quick change and uncertainty.”

A clinical supervisor with FirstHealth Critical Care Transport Service, Dow and her colleagues, a critical care paramedic and emergency medical technician, transfer critically ill or injured patients between area hospitals and FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital. They use a specially equipped fleet of ambulances.

“We pick up patients of all ages with all kinds of illnesses, from neonates to the fragile elderly,” says Dow, who works 24-hour shifts two days a week and has been with FirstHealth since 1991.

“We have transported people with heart problems and neurological injuries, people on ventilators, and trauma cases. You never know when that pager goes off what you will be encountering.”

Communicating clinical information between referring and accepting hospitals is also an important part of Dow’s job. The position requires at least five years of experience as an ICU nurse, as well as certification in advanced cardiac life support, pediatric advanced life support, neonatal resuscitation, and basic trauma life support or trauma nursing. Dow also completes quarterly credentialing on critical skills such as balloon pumping, transvenous pacing and ventilators.

Supporting key service areas
FirstHealth hospitals provide some of the region’s most advanced care in orthopaedics, surgical services, cardiology, behavioral health, and oncology. These primary service areas provide registered nurses with their choice of fulfilling and challenging opportunities.

Orthopaedics
After a brief career as a medical lab technician, Karen Allen, R.N., went back to school for a nursing degree. During one of her clinical rotations at an orthopaedic hospital, she found her calling. She accepted a staff nurse position in the 2C Orthopaedics and Urology unit at Moore Regional Hospital, where she has worked since graduating from the University of North Carolina-Charlotte in 1992.

Now a charge nurse, Allen juggles supervisory and patientcare responsibilities. She spends the bulk of her time coordinating patient care on the unit, troubleshooting and resolving issues, coordinating scheduling for the unit’s clerical and nursing staff, and ensuring that physician orders have been processed. She also precepts new nurses and provides one-to-one counseling to people who are scheduled for knee or hip replacement surgery, helping them understand what to expect before, during and after their procedure.

Karen Allen, R.N., has found her calling as a charge nurse on the 2C Orthopaedics and Urology unit at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital.

Sandy Frizzelle, R.N., followed in her mother’s footsteps and became a nurse. She now works in the Oncology department at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital.

Oncology
Sandy Frizzelle, R.N., followed in her mother’s footsteps by becoming a nurse 19 years ago. She joined the Oncology department at Moore Regional Hospital in January 2005, inspired to help other families after her father passed away from cancer several years ago.

In this role, Frizzelle administers chemotherapy in the outpatient area of the Community Hospital Comprehensive Cancer Center in Pinehurst. The center is accredited by the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons, a distinction reserved for the country’s best cancer programs.

“I enjoy the patients we see here,” she says. “They are so brave, and they have the best spirit about themselves. They are fighters, and I admire them for that.”

During a chemotherapy treatment, Frizzelle provides a high level of personal attention to every patient.

First, she does an initial assessment to make sure the patient is feeling well that day and see how he or she felt after the last treatment. She then helps the patient settle into one of the chemotherapy area’s 14 large, comfortable recliners and begins intravenous therapy.

“My goal is to make patients as comfortable as possible during treatment and to help them feel at ease while they’re here,” she says. “We want to meet not just their physical needs, but also their emotional needs.”

Providing patient and caregiver education is an important responsibility of Frizzelle’s. She also coordinates supportive care, such as nutrition counseling, resource referrals or psychosocial services, to help patients and their loved ones through this time of uncertainty.

Cardiology
Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of illness in the FirstHealth community, and the Hiatt Unit at Moore Regional Hospital provides some of the region’s most comprehensive cardiac care. Christy Hearne, R.N.-II, has worked as a cardiology nurse in the 11-bed Hiatt Unit and the 10-bed Cardiac Procedure Unit since 2001. Previously, she was an emergency room nurse and paramedic.

“Our patients come in for pacemakers, angioplasty, stents and internal cardiac defibrillators,” says Hearne, who particularly enjoys interpreting EKGs and heart rhythms. “Our unit also performs diagnostic cardiac catheterizations and transesophageal echocardiograms, and stress tests. My role is to monitor patients after these procedures and make sure they are stable and recovering comfortably.”

In addition to cardiopulmonary resuscitation and advanced cardiac life support certification, Hearne’s job requires unit-specific skill credentialing.

Christy Hearne, R.N.-II, has worked as a cardiology nurse in the Hiatt Unit at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital since she com-
pleted nursing school.

Donna Johnson, R.N., is a staff nurse in the Operating Room/Post-
Anesthesia Care Unit at FirstHealth Montgomery Memorial Hospital.

Surgical Services
As a staff nurse in the Operating Room/Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) at Montgomery Memorial Hospital, Donna Johnson, R.N., cares for people having knee arthroscopy, laparoscopic surgery, endoscopy, hernia operations and other outpatient procedures. Her time is split between the Operating Room, where she prepares patients pre-operatively and assists the surgeons, and the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit, where she monitors patients after surgery.

“My duties range from interviewing and counseling patients before surgery, to preparing patients for surgery by starting their IVs, working with the nurse anesthetist, checking vital signs and administering pain medications,” says Johnson, who has been a nurse for 23 years, the last 12 with FirstHealth.

According to Johnson, the position requires strong patient assessment skills, in addition to certification in advanced cardiac life support, neonatal resuscitation and pediatric advanced life support.

Behavioral Health
For Kathy Woodard, R.N., the most rewarding aspects of her job include watching clients improve, knowing that she helped make a difference in a person’s journey to recovery and working with a professional staff that is dedicated to quality patient care.

Woodard, R.N.-II, is a Behavioral Services nurse at Moore Regional Hospital. She has held a variety of positions within the field and in medical-surgical nursing that have helped her attain the skills she needs to work in an acute-care behavioral health unit with a diverse patient population.

“We provide multidisciplinary treatment and a full continuum of services for people who have psychiatric disorders, substance abuse disorders, cognitive disorders and medical diagnoses, and who meet a variety of other criteria,” says Woodard, whose role varies from charge nurse to staff nurse to medication nurse from day to day.

Kathy Woodard, R.N., works in the Behavioral Services division at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital.

She also helped develop the hospital’s Pinehurst Treatment Center, a program that provides substance abuse rehabilitation treatment to clients with addictions.

Some of Woodard’s typical duties include assessing patients’ emotional and physical status, discussing their care and treatment plans, group setting and one-on-one teaching, attending treatment team meetings, and coordinating patient care and discharge planning with other team members. She also helps patients with their activities of daily living, monitors patients for substance abuse withdrawal, coordinates medical care with medical consultants and the hospital’s Hospitalist Services program, monitors medication effects and serves on numerous hospital committees.

“Many of our patients have multiple disorders as well as medical conditions so it is helpful to have a strong knowledge of both medical and mental disease, as well as excellent assessment, conflict resolution, communication, problem-solving, crisis intervention and group therapy skills,” says Woodard, who recently won an award for her dedication to her clients.

“Our team works together to stabilize a patient’s acute symptoms and to help the patient transition back to more independent living. You have to be positive, flexible and customer-satisfaction-oriented, and have the ability to self-evaluate and remain committed to removing the stigma surrounding mental health and substance abuse disorders and treatment.”

Carving their niche

DeeAnna Rhodes, R.N., has worked with Moore Regional Hospital Hospitalist Services since the program was launched in 2003.

Hospitalist Services
FirstHealth is one of the pioneers in the emerging field of medical care known as hospital medicine. A hospitalist is a physician whose primary focus is the general medical care of hospitalized patients. The hospitalists and nurses affiliated with this program at Moore Regional Hospital admit patients to the hospital, manage their care over the entire period of hospitalization and coordinate the return of the patient to his or her primary care provider.

DeeAnna Rhodes, R.N., has worked with Moore Regional Hospital Hospitalist Services since March 2005. A nurse since 1987, she previously worked in a medical office. She was drawn to Hospitalist Services by the multidisciplinary team approach to patient care.

“In hospital medicine, every service is important, and the doctors, nurses and ancillary staff work together as an equal team.

My role enables me to build bridges between the primary care provider and the hospital to expedite and enhance patient care,” says Rhodes, who rotates through the different inpatient units at Moore Regional Hospital to see patients.

Many of those in her care are elderly and afflicted with multiple health concerns, which makes discharge planning a priority for Rhodes.

“The aging population we see often needs multiple resources, and it’s my job to make sure all their needs are met,” she says. “We contact patients 48 hours after discharge to see how they are doing and to bridge them back to their primary care provider.”

“In Hospitalist Services, every day is different,” she says. “It’s rewarding to feel you have made a difference or affected a patient’s stay in a positive way.”

Wound Care
For most people, wound healing is a natural, uneventful process. For some, however, it becomes a complex medical problem requiring expert treatment and care. That’s where specially trained nurses such as Ann Poplin, R.N., can make a difference. Poplin is a certified wound care and ostomy nurse at Moore Regional Hospital.

“I like the flexibility and the fact that I’m not in one place all the time,” says Poplin, who moved into her current role after 15 years in home care nursing. “I’m all over the hospital, seeing dif-
ferent patients and working with different nurses. Once a month, I see patients at FirstHealth Montgomery Memorial Hospital in Troy.”

Some of Poplin’s typical duties include consulting on wounds such as pressure ulcers, diabetic ulcers, and burns, wounds caused by poor circulation, and difficult surgical wounds.

Ann Poplin, R.N., is a certified wound care and ostomy nurse at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital.

She also teaches new ostomy patients how to care for their ostomies and assists with general skin care issues, wound cleansing and specialty dressings for burns, skin grafts and other severe wounds.

To qualify for this position, say Poplin, a bachelor’s degree in nursing is essential, in addition to certification in wound and ostomy care. She is currently pursuing a master of science degree in nursing and training to be a family nurse practitioner as part of her advanced curriculum.

“Also, to work in this specialty, you need to be somewhat independent and confident in your skills, especially around other health care professionals,” she says. “Good observation, evaluation and interpersonal skills also are helpful.

The doctor’s right hand
By Annette Dunlap

“Nurses are essential in patient care,” says Touber Vang, M.D., a Montgomery County family practice physician. “They are with the patients most of the day and can tell us how the patients are doing.”

FirstHealth physicians recognize nurses as an essential part of the health care team that provides high-quality patient care. “Today’s health care environment is conducive to the team approach,” says John F. Krahnert Jr., M.D., director of Cardiac Surgery and chief of staff at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital. “The difference between a good program and a great program is the nursing care.”

Physicians rely on a nurse’s observations and clinical skills to provide an assessment of a patient’s condition. They expect a nurse to notify them immediately if a patient’s condition has changed, and to recommend an appropriate treatment plan. A nurse “knows when a patient is becoming ill, and recognizes it, so that the information can be transmitted to the attending physician immediately,” says Leslie Salloum, M.D., a general surgeon at FirstHealth Richmond Memorial Hospital.

“Nurses have more time to spend with the patient,” says Steven Karan, M.D., director of Anesthesiology and Pain Management at Moore Regional. “They can report to the physician on the patient’s condition, and what has already been done to treat that patient. A lot of time nurses have good recommendations, and they can direct me right to the mark regarding the next step in patient care.”

Empathy and excellent clinical skills are the hallmarks of an out-
standing nurse. “Nurses provide more personal care, and they provide the best care for patients,” says Dr. Karan. “They also build on their clinical skills so that each new situation they encounter will help them do a better job the next time around.”

Dr. Vang agrees. “The best nurses have always been the ones who want to know what’s going on with a patient, have good clinical skills to assess the patient, and want to know what the goal or treatment is,” he says. “They do not just carry out orders without thinking.”

As members of the care team, nurses are seen as essential to helping patients and family members cope with their fears. Physicians also expect nurses to answer questions for patients. “Nurses help put patients and their families at ease by explaining or answering questions that they may have when we are not available,” says Dr. Vang.

“Nurses can allay a patient and family member of fears they may be having,” Dr. Karan says. “They can reassure the person of what can be done to help out. Nurses provide more personal care, and the best care, for patients.”

Nurses enable physicians to provide excellence in patient care. “When you have confi dence in your nurses, they are able to do a lot of things that free you to do other things,” says Dr. Krahnert. “It’s a matter of mutual trust and respect, and that is a relationship between nurses and doctors that is crucial and must be fostered over time.”