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Show IB THE GREEN SHEET Thursday, June 13, 1985 f9 Patients The Common Denominator - Mesuylle Nurses' Work Is Varied, Challenging, Important SALT LAKE. What does It mean -the question in the eyes of a pregnant woman, the wince of a nine-year-o- ld cancer patient, the frown of a paralyzed grandfather? Is it a time for curative measures or helping them cope with their illnesses? Or is it a time for care and comfort only? Goals for care have to be adjusted for each patient and for different stages of life, says Marilyn Mott, R.N., a University of Utah Hospital staff nurse. Too often, people think of nurses as someone whos there to fluff the pillow, change the bed, get them water, she said. But nursing gives you the opportunity to care for people at all stages of life from birth to death. that care may range from teaching patients coordinating of flight schedules to counseling And families to administering medication. Nursing is not an easy profession to define. The responsibilities of a rehabilitation nurse differ greatly from a charge nurse in the unit to an AirMed psychiatric transport nurse. But whatever the specialization, nurses share a common source of gratification: patients. When a patient grabs your hand and says, I couldnt have done it without you, it makes your job worthwhile, says Marjorie Newman, R.N., a labor and delivery staff nurse at University Hospital and an AirMed flight nurse. The emotional bonding between nurse and patient is nowhere more evident than in the work of Colleen Dille, R.N., M.S., a clinical specialist in the rehabilitation unit. Patients frequently stay on the unit three to eight months as the nurse teaches them, as well as their families, new skills to adjust to lives altered by spinal cord and head injuries, strokes and neuromuscular problems. People often ask Mrs. Dille how she can care for people who have no future. But she views her work much differently. I see this as a specialty area of nursing, a caring, uplifting exshe explained. Its a perience, to with these work paprivilege tients. Theyre acutely aware of how fragile our physical life is. Theyre asking questions and finding answers to questions we all ask about the value and meaning of life. They really get down to the grassroots level of whats important in life. With those questions come challenges for rehabilitation nurses. They must provide much more than We and support. maintenance focus on all the patients needs the totality of the person, said Mrs. Dille. That means the nurse must include the patients family in all phases of care at the hospital as well as at home; teach new hospital staff members how to care for patients with unique physical problems and conduct skill classes for the outpatient. We do a lot of coordinating, agreed Ms. Mott, 38, a staff nurse on the surgery floor. We have to work with so many other areas of the hospital: nutrition care, respiratory therapy, social work, physical therapy. A 1971 graduate of the UofU College of Nursing, Ms. Mott started as a nurse's aide at University Hospital in 1966. Shes enjoyed caring for a - y, of patients: kidney transplant, gynecology, surgical, medical and clinical research. The opportunities for learning are variety . Over 1.7 million nurses in the U.. S. such os Marilyn CARING Mott, a University Hospital staff nurse, provide many services for patients of all ages. University Hospital has 360 nurses on staff. unlimited in nursing, she noted. As she changes Intravenous lines, administers medication, applies bandages and walks patients around the unit, Ms. Mott fits most peoples motornl- tho high-ris- k flown to University Of Utah Hospital FLIGHT NURSE . . . Many of ty patients rocoivo car and comfort from Marjorie Newman, a nurse on the AirMed moternal transport. image of a nurse. Yet, theres often the AirMed maternal transport, much missing from that perception. knows that only too well: We make A lot of what we do is prevent decisions that involve the lives of problems that could happen, she both the mother and baby. explained. Were really the eyes, Only once during the numerous ears and hands of the doctor. Were flights Mrs. Newman has made here 24 hours a day. since 1979 have she and an attending She continually watches patients resident delivered a baby in the for any changes in their condition -- plane. But she has to be prepared to an unexpected fever, pain or handle any unexpected complicatenderness that might signal an intions, including airplane crashes. fection, or changes in vital signs that Mrs. Newman has taken survival might indicate a side effect to skill classes on how to build shelters medication or other problem. and fires, and alert aircraft for help. When shes not in flight, the 1954 Judgment skills also are critical in assessing patients emotional needs. UofU graduate is a scrub nurse in When caring for the terminally ill, the labor and delivery unit, assisting you have to be there to help them with Cesarean sections and however they wish, said Ms. Mott. deliveries. Many of the patients in You may not be able to prolong labor are high-risrequiring her intheir life, but you can do a lot to imtensive care skills. Besides bedside care, which realprove their quality of life. Whether providing emotional or ly makes my job satisfying, Mrs. physical- care, you always have to Newman .enjoys motivating staff, be aware of the consequences of members and teaching nursing what you do, she added. students. I like to feel I may have Mrs. Newman, a flight nurse for helped make a difference in their job mm s Mv satisfaction, she said. Several years ago, she encouraged a young woman working in the recovery room to transfer to obstetrics. The woman completed a two-yeregistered nursing course, then a bachelors degree and now joins Mrs. Newman as a flight nurse. Shes a role model for other people, added Mrs. Newman. Alice Cloud, R.N., M.Ed., night charge nurse in the psychiatric unit, never intended to be a role model for her youngest daughter, a registered nurse in Chicago, nor did she expect to follow the footsteps of her own retired nurse. mother, a Her positions in the nursing field, however, have not always been traditional. working as a medical-surgicnurse, Mrs. Cloud, 53, returned to school and earned a masters degree in counseling and guidance. She worked as a teacher-nurs- e in the Chicago public schools Continued on page 5 After al ...IN TUNE WITH YOUR BUDGET! ANHQAL 100 X Financing Available Payments From $20 Month with Your Good Credit aW WURLIYZER PIANOS & ORGANS STARTING AT $ 11588 USED PIANOS & ORGANS $499-$149- 5 ALSO, USED GRANDS & WURLITZER THEATRE CONSOLE ORGANS VJiSY PARKING LOT aEMnUSDM! 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