We are a Level 1 Trauma center, so we had all the specialties in one place. вЂњWhen the patient arrived, we were ready. She was about to witness something she had never experienced before in the emergency room. вЂњAnother nurse and I offered to stay later to help the upcoming nurse with the patient,вЂќ says Dawn Lutecki, 42 year-old clinical nurse leader on the night shift at Hartford, Conn., HospitalвЂ™s emergency department. A pregnant woman involved in a motor vehicle accident was headed to the emergency room by ambulance. She had already worked her 12-hour shift when the radio call came over. Make an impact вЂ“ start your travel career today. вЂњHe introduced me to his partner as the person who saved his life,вЂќ she says. When she saw him walk down the hall, she burst out in tears and gave him a big hug. It was his first day back on the job after his injury, several surgeries and extensive rehabilitation.вЂќ вЂњA year later almost to the day of his accident, this man came to see me in in his police uniform.

Through all the chaos and pain, he remembers me telling him I wouldnвЂ™t let him die вЂ“ a promise I really couldnвЂ™t make, but did anyhow,вЂќ she says. вЂњIt was a gift from him again thanking me for saving his life. IвЂ™d done less than all my colleagues, really only talking to him and telling him he was going to be OK,вЂќ she says.ДЇour months later, a package comes in the mail. вЂњHis injuries were severe, but he made it through surgery.вЂќДЄ few days later his wife came down to the emergency department to thank Weintraub for saving his life. вЂњAlthough I spent all that time with him, I donвЂ™t think I provided any actual care вЂ“ no injections, no wound cleaning, no starting of IVвЂ™s,вЂќ she says. Her shift was ending, but she stayed with him for many more hours holding his hand as he went for more scans and tests. вЂњWeвЂ™ve seen too many people die who should have lived but didnвЂ™t, and too many die for no reason.вЂќ But as with most emergency department nurses, we believe in the mind-body connection,вЂќ she says. вЂњI promised him I wouldnвЂ™t let him die, although I knew that in spite of the very best care, his injuries were severe and promising his survival was beyond anything I could reasonably guarantee. She realized that he was a close friend of another police officer who she had dated, and most ER nurses know the local police well as they interact frequently. As I looked down at this man вЂ“ covered in blood, clothes cut away, broken bones, shattered glass all over вЂ“ I hear this familiar voice say, вЂBarb, donвЂ™t let me die,вЂ™ вЂќ she says. вЂњI moved to the head of the bed to assess his airway and secure his neck. When Weintraub was working a few years ago at a Level 1 trauma center in Illinois (those are the places that take the most severely injured patients), she was put in the midst of helping a police officer who had been involved in a very serious motor vehicle crash. Regardless of what brings a patient to the ED, itвЂ™s my job to care for them,вЂќ she says.Дiscover new travel assignments here. TodayвЂ™s emergency departments care for so much more than emergencies that some people have started calling them Everything Departments, Weintraub says. вЂњThere is no type of injury, medical, surgical, obstetrical, psychiatric or pediatric condition that we arenвЂ™t equipped to care for.вЂќ вЂњWe take care of patients of every age from the moment of birth to grandmas and grandpas in their 100s,вЂќ she says. She has been a nurse for 30 years, and now serves as manager of the emergency department at Community First Medical Center in Chicago. Sometimes, it is something small, not what most people think of as life-saving, but itвЂ™s lifesaving to that person,вЂќ says Barbara Weintraub.

вЂњThe best part about being an emergency room nurse is that moment you know youвЂ™ve changed someoneвЂ™s life. It could be someone with stab wounds, a baby in distress, bus accident victims or an elderly man with pneumonia. As an emergency room nurse, you never know whatвЂ™s coming in that door next.

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