Stephanie
I love what I do, and the fact that the medical center is so good at treating critically ill patients is because we have a great team.
Critical care. The mere mention of these two words is likely to bring a flood of emotion, because usually it means that someone has an acute, life-threatening injury or illness. Also known as an intensive care unit, a critical care unit consists of highly trained, multidisciplinary staff and specialized equipment designed to help patients whose medical condition is precarious.
One set of key team members in the care of seriously ill patients are the critical care nurses. Their nursing job is not only to provide the highest level of skilled nursing, but also to be the patients’ advocates and the facilitators of communication among all those involved in care. The specialized expertise and constant presence of critical care nurses allow them to recognize even subtle changes in a patient’s condition.
The University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, Tennessee, has many skilled professionals whose work includes advocating on behalf of patients unable speak for themselves because of illness or injury. They carry out this advocacy with respect for the patients’ basic rights, values and beliefs and a determination to help the patient's family make the best decisions.
Stephanie is one of those professionals. With her experience as both a critical care nurse and a patient in a critical care unit, she has a very personal perspective on the miracles such skilled care can make happen.
Almost seven years ago Stephanie, then 34 years old, suffered a spontaneous ruptured cerebral aneurysm that left her in a coma for 18 days and hospitalized for almost a month. She experienced multiple organ failure and several times was on the brink of death. But to look at her today, you would never suspect it. After four months of occupational therapy, Stephanie regained her ability to swallow, talk and walk. Today, she cares for her patients at UT Medical Center with the compassion and commitment others showed toward her.
When asked if she’d change what happened to her if she could, she replies that she sees the experience as a blessing and wouldn’t want to alter it. “You can’t come that close to death without being changed,” she says.
Because she knows what certain procedures feel like, Stephanie is more sensitive to the patient side of tracheotomy (a breathing tube inserted in the neck when a ventilator will be needed for a long period of time), general lack of control and other experiences associated with hospitalization. She has discussed with her family the roller coaster of emotions they experienced, so she also has what she describes as “a heightened awareness now of what the families of patients experience.” One of her most valued discoveries is the importance of pastoral care.
Reflecting on her success as a critical care nurse, Stephanie says, “I love what I do, and the fact that the medical center is so good at treating critically ill patients is because we have a great team.” It’s important to note that she and one of her team members took it upon themselves to find a better way of monitoring their patients’ temperature— an important advance, since in a critical care unit even a few tenths of a degree can make a big difference. Their study monitored thermometer accuracy and the costs associated with less-than-accurate measurements. The result? A switch to more accurate thermometers, which are now used throughout the medical center. It’s just one example of how our critical care staff ensures the best and most cost-effective care for its patients.
The University of Tennessee Medical Center provides critical care through five specialized areas.
1. Surgical critical care
2. Medical critical care
3. Cardiovascular intensive care / coronary care
4. Neonatal intensive care
5. Pediatric intensive care
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Critical Care Nurse