What made you want to become a neurocritical nurse practitioner?
My career journey is a bit of a long story, but let me make it as short as possible. I mean, who wants to read a long-winded answer? I actually kind of “fell” into nursing. At the age of 17, I obtained a job at a local nursing home doing laundry. I soon realised how much I enjoyed the geriatric population and wanted to be able to care for that population with compassion and dignity.
I promptly attained my Certified Nurse Assistant. As soon as I concluded how fulfilling taking care of others was, I went on to complete my Licensed Practical Nurse, followed by my Registered Nurse and ultimately my Nurse Practitioner, including a post-masters doctorate. Two years after I graduated with my Registered Nurse degree, I began working in the intensive care unit.
It was there that I grew a huge interest in stroke and the neurologically critical patient. When I completed my nurse practitioner degree, I was elated to be offered a position as a Neurocritical care nurse practitioner. The brain is an amazing and complex organ. It makes us who we are and is constantly changing in response to experience and environment. There is always so much to learn in the Neurocritical world. I love my career each and every day.
What keeps you motivated working with stroke?
Stroke can be devastating and debilitating. We all know that. But have you ever seen someone come in with severe stroke symptoms (unable to talk or walk), receive clot-busting medication and/or surgical treatment, and walk out of the hospital? I have, and it’s intoxicating. What the brain is capable of doing is mind-blowing. Neuroplasticity is an amazing property of the brain. It can learn and adapt to the changing environment. No two strokes are the same, and as a provider being able to support both the patient and the family in a scary and unknown time keeps me motivated to be there for stroke survivors.
What advice would you give to yourself at the start of your career?
Be patient. Not only with your brain because, over time, you will learn and be an expert at your career, but with others’ brains. The brain is a slow healer. Not every day after a stroke will healing be in a positive direction. There will be bad days and good days. Caring for a neurologically critical patient is very complex, but go to every conference, class, and lecture offered and absorb as much as you can to be able to improve your clinical judgment and expertise.
What are the daily challenges you face in your role and how do you deal with them?
One of the biggest challenges in my role can be the nature of the work environment. While I thoroughly enjoy taking care of those who have neuro issues, we have high numbers of patients with devastating issues and uncertainty regarding functional outcomes, survival, and quality of life prognostication. It can be emotionally taxing not only to care for these types of patients but also to support, advise, and nurture the family members. While these situations can be very challenging, they can be very rewarding when you make a difference in patient outcomes. In order to deal with this on a daily basis, I find that having a good work-life balance is essential. Embracing and enjoying my time off to spend doing the things I enjoy in life. This helps me build resilience.
With stroke, what is something you believe the general public need to be more aware of?
Time is brain. If you or someone you know is experiencing stroke symptoms get to your nearest hospital. Clot-busting medication can only be administered within 4.5 hours of the onset of symptoms. It can reduce the amount of damage to the brain that can occur during a stroke. When it comes to stroke survivors, the brain needs tons of quality sleep and rest to recover, so allow ample rest time and minimize energy-burning activities.
What is something you have done in the field of stroke, that you are most proud of?
Education. Not only my personal education but the education of nurses, patients, family members, and the community. The art of teaching others about recognising stroke, stroke treatment, and recovery can truly save lives and improve outcomes.
What is the best quality someone working with stroke can have?
Patience. Do you sense a theme? Our body is amazing… we need to give the brain time to heal and allow our body to go through the inflammation process, which can take days to weeks for our immune system to try to clean up from the damage that is caused by a stroke and then recovery can be months to years.
