“Working ICU to the ER, a Shock if Nothing Else!”
Gail Walker : Clinical Nurse II at Virginia Commonwealth University Health System in Richmond, Virginia.
Education: BSN from University of Virginia (UVA) in 1989 and Certification in Emergency Nursing
What inspired you to pursue this field?:
“I was a junior volunteer at Alexandria Hospital when I was in middle school and there I volunteered for over 200 hours delivering things like flowers and medications from the pharmacy. I also was able to wheel discharged patients out of the hospital I really enjoyed my time volunteering.”
What exactly was your path to the job you have now?:
“When I graduated from nursing school in 1989, I worked as a pediatric nurse in a teaching hospital and I really enjoyed the relationships between nursing and other health care professionals. Everyone was on a first name basis and there was a mutual respect all around between the different health care professions. I moved and worked in three different community hospitals for seven years in adult intensive care units. I actually worked as a ‘float’ nurse for thirteen years in my current facility. I floated to the ICU’s, step down units, PACU. and ED. I really enjoyed my shifts in the emergency department so I transferred to that department from the float pool seven years ago.”
What are the basic roles and responsibilities of the job?:
“As a bedside RN in the adult emergency level of a level one trauma center, mouthful I know, I get to take care of patients who have experienced trauma such as a car accident, gun shot wounds, stabbings, strokes, to patients coming in complaining about tooth aches. Sometimes I work as a ‘resource nurse’ to help mentor nurses or assist them when they have high acuity patients.”
What have been your favorite (or most rewarding) aspect about the job?:
“When patients really appreciate all you’ve done for them, and actually say thank you. It’s also been a great job to raise of family with. I worked night shift for 25 years so I could be home with my children during the day and then have their father be there during the night time. It’s a great job!”
What is the most surprising aspect of your career?:
“Working in the emergency department is always surprising, it’s very fast paced and you never know what’s gonna happen. I used to work in the ICU, and there I would have two patients at the most. It was more controlled definitely.”
What is the most challenging part of your career as of now?:
“This is a hard one, Mackenzie. There are always new medications coming out and new equipment being used which we have to become educated on.”
What is some advice you would give someone who is thinking of entering the health field?:
“Probably to work in a hospital as a tech as a student. I worked at Duke (University Medical Center) between my junior and senior year as a nursing assistant. It was awesome to work in an environment that was different from where I worked and had my clinical. It just gave me a different experience and I highly recommend a program like that, my hospital actually does it; I’ve worked with students from UVA and JMU in the past few summers I believe.”
In this interview, I learned that becoming a nurse doesn’t mean you’re stuck to one position in the field. I always thought that once you were in a part of the hospital, there was no way to switch departments; in listening to Mrs. Walker’s story I learned otherwise. I was also able to find credible resources to help me decide where I should volunteer/work over the summer to help gain more experience in the hospital.