A Knack for Troubleshooting a Bloody CBI

This nurse shares how her love for problem solving keeps her afloat on a busy surgical floor

Welcome to Nurse Ascent, a twice-weekly newsletter created by nurses for nurses. This week, one nurse shares how she went from film school back to nursing in her early 30s, plus new research on osteoarthritis and Alzheimer’s, health misinformation trends, and a nursing role paying up to $196/hour.

But first, when you're the patient...

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Nurse Spotlight: Heather M. RN, BSN, CBN

What I do for work

I work bedside on a medical-surgical unit where our primary specialty is acute surgical care — mainly GI, gynecology, urology, jaw, and bariatric surgeries. Some days it feels like a catch-all for most surgeries besides orthopedics. I’m now an advanced clinician where I do relief charging, precept other new or new hire nurses, and help prepare education to deliver to the unit. I love teaching people. Last year I did a year-long project at the Evidenced-Based Practice Institute.

How I got here

I’d always been I interested nursing, inspired by my godmother who was a nurse. I ended up going to film school because I found I hated science classes. After I worked in the film and television industry for a while, I decided to go back to nursing school in my late 20s. I ended up at my current hospital during COVID where I was hired as a surge tech as a nursing students to be an additional set of hands for the RNs on the floor. At the end, I was hired as an RN on the same floor and was happy to stay because I liked the staff and the unit. Now, I always joke I take the best wound care photos after working in creative directing.

Headlines in Healthcare

High-dose Flu Vaccines Tied to Lower Risk of Alzheimer's

According to a large observational study published in Neurology, receiving a high-dose flu vaccine is associated with a significantly lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease in adults aged 65 and older. The findings suggest this could be linked to a growing body of evidence supporting vaccination, and possibly immune system activity, reduce dementia risk.

1 in 10 Health Ad Dollars Goes to Misinformation

Government and health organizations spent $35.7 million on advertising across 11 news websites identified as publishing health misinformation between 2021 and 2014 accounting for 10.6% of total ad revenue, according to News Medical. This study is raising urgent questions about how automated ad systems may be undermining trust in credible health information.

A Single Shot May Reverse Osteoarthritis

A research team from three Colorado universities have developed new treatments that may have reversed osteoarthritis in animals. One of them, a single injection, is a mix of proteins that recruit the body’s own cells to repair the damage. When researchers gave the shot to arthritic animals, damaged joints returned to a healthy state in weeks. This study challenges the belief that scientists formerly held about cartilage damage being irreversible. If wrong, these studies could result in both a cure for osteoarthritis as well as reverse natural cartilage loss.

More on Heather

A day in my life

I work day shift now after being on night shift for a few years. Typically we are assigned 4 telemetry patients. On my floor we have a higher turnover for patients with a lot of discharges and admissions where we sometimes turn over half the floor. Now, I’ll work some shifts as charge and I’m often resource for the floor too. I love problem solving and finding solutions for when things go wrong.

What I do for fun

On my days off I start with morning coffee while watching an episode of something with cat in my lap. I do a Pilates class or yoga with friends or coworkers. We go to monthly trivia night at a local bar. I have a lot of random hobbies like sewing, painting, and photography. On my time off I love creating and traveling. Ireland and Alaska are my next trips for the year.

Share your story & be entered to win

As part of our effort to spotlight nurses, we’d love to feature you in an upcoming issue of Nurse Ascent! Share your story by filling out our quick interview form, and you’ll be entered into a raffle to win a $50 gift card.

An image of author Katie Scoggins is pictured.

Meet the author:
Katie Scoggins
(RN, BSN & Health Writer)

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