Kari A. Radford, RN
Staff Nurse, Emergency Department
NURSING at Saint Vincent Hospital
Nursing has been a career of mine for 35 years, the last 18 of which have been at Saint Vincent Hospital. I have had the opportunity to work in a variety of roles in the hospital. As a clinical nurse specialist, I provided education for the now step-down cardiac surgery unit before they transitioned to a telemetry floor. As a per diem ICU nurse, while I taught full time in a RN to BSN program, I had the opportunity to help meet the needs of patients and families during times of extreme stress in their lives. Currently, as an ED nurse, I encounter people who are faced with sudden crises, and I have the chance to ease the pain somewhat in these everyday encounters.
Ultimately, nursing at SVH has afforded me many opportunities to provide assistance and support to many patients and family members during a time when they are most vulnerable.
Responsibility for my patients and families is not taken lightly. I try to always treat each individual with utmost respect and dignity, keeping in mind that it could be my family or myself in the same circumstance. Respect is also shared at SVH between professional colleagues. I have often heard it said that SVH has always had that community atmosphere, with a pulling together when it matters the most.
Special handling of people is what SVH is all about. We are an institution committed to serving those individuals in the community with healthcare needs.
Involvement is an important aspect of the professional role. I have had various opportunities to serve on committees. Two of the highlights have been participating on both the Nursing Ethics and Hospital Ethics committees during the late 80s and early 90s, the time of setting up standards and laying the foundation for ethical decision-making at SVH. Another favorite undertaking was being a co-chair with Dr. Kaufman in the planning of joint medical/nursing critical care conferences, for several consecutive years.
Nothing and no one can take the experiences away from me that I have encountered with each of my patients. I have shared in their pain, their sorrow and suffering. They have come to SVH in a great time of need and I have had the opportunity to reach out and help bring them through these experiences. Sometimes it has been very frustrating as well as emotionally and physically draining. Patients and families in turn have left a long-lasting impact on me as they have responded to their own situation at hand. Overall, nursing at SVH has provided many moments of interaction with patients, and a sense of pride that my presence has potentially made a difference in their experience.
Goals, or patient-directed plans of care, are established with each situation. As a nurse, how those goals are collaboratively reached in the patient's best interest is of utmost importance. I have often told my students, and I firmly believe that we as nurses are at the hub of what it's all about, and therefore the encounter that each patient has with us as nurses could make all the difference in whether or not the plans are carried out and the goals achieved.
Atypical can be used to describe each day of my nursing career at SVH. No matter how well one can predict certain scenarios, each encounter is unique and brings new challenges. And every day affords yet another opportunity for learning; about disease and pathophysiology, about people and their needs, and about my own inner strengths and weaknesses.
Time is something we all have been given the same. Time is a precious commodity, and I feel like there is never quite enough to go around. There are other times when I can't wait for the minutes to pass, so I can move on to the next opportunity. My time at SVH has given me such a vast array of experiences. I am grateful for each and every one.
Script can be seen as the words in a play as the storyline unfolds. I feel that the years I have spent at SVH have given me many chances to create the play one day at a time. In so doing, I have had the ongoing opportunity to play one of the leading roles. I believe every nurse has a leading role to play. This ongoing role has helped shape my career and defined and created my own professional signature. After all these years as a nurse, I still have the satisfaction of serving others and making a difference. I still have a passion for nursing.
Viewing my nursing career at SVH over the past 18 years, I can truly say that I am grateful for the many opportunities given to me in a variety of settings. I feel like I am living a virtual tour, which is ongoing with each new encounter. I thank all the wonderful people at SVH who have helped to create this experience. After all, it's people that make all the difference.
Highlights of my nursing experience at SVH have been identified, as well as reflections of unique opportunities. My time at SVH has been well spent. Thank you SVH for your part in shaping my professional career and helping to shape my own professional signature.