Nurse on the Move: Lauren Everingham

Lauren Everingham RN works within the pediatric medicine and short stay pediatric departments at All Children’s Hospital Johns Hopkins Medicine in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Everingham is a nurse with a second profession. She initially studied writing at Muhlenberg College and worked as an editor for a health magazine. Drawn to a more service-oriented profession, she earned a master’s degree in teaching English literature from Western Carolina University and briefly taught highschool English in North Carolina. Everingham quickly realized she would like to serve children and families another way, so she earned her BSN degree through the university’s nursing program. She eventually found her home as a pediatric nurse.

Now equipped together with her nursing knowledge, Everingham has just returned from a week-long medical mission to the Dominican Republic with Team Tampa Bay. There, she used her nursing knowledge to assist establish medical clinics and supply care to the residents of Bateys – small villages situated within the sugar cane fields within the USA. Roman.

During our email conversation, we discussed why Everingham decided to pursue nursing, the way it modified her life, and what her medical mission taught her.

*After our interview, Hurricane Erika caused unexpected events tragedy and disaster within the Dominican Republic. To donate, visit the web site Caribbean Red Cross.

The state of education in North Carolina quickly disenfranchised me – teachers are a number of the lowest paid within the United States, the state government eliminated the master’s degree allowance, and after I graduated in mid-2010, teaching positions were being cut left and right due to our struggling economy. For me, the very best a part of teaching was the youngsters, so I used to be in search of a profession that may allow me to assist children while also securing my very own future. Turns out third profession is a charm! Additionally, I take advantage of my teaching skills as a nurse each day.

Being a nurse at a kid’s hospital means I’m reminded each day to count my blessings. I’m sure all nurses think this manner. It’s really easy to take your individual health and well-being with no consideration. My work brings me nose to nose with children and families fighting heartbreaking trauma, difficult chronic illnesses, terminal illnesses, violence and neglect. I’m more aware of how lucky I used to be and I’m honored to have the ability to assist these families during a difficult time of their lives.

Above I discussed a number of the dark things I witness as a pediatric nurse. But I also feel joy each day at work: seeing mermaids rolling down the hall in wheelchairs to go to patients, watching a baby hug her recent foster parent for the primary time, and helping recent parents pose for a photograph with their tiny baby that I can finally take home after three months within the ICU. Every time I enter the hospital, through the brightly coloured corridors, past the pirate ship playground, and into the elevator where a toddler’s voice proclaims, “I’m in!”, I feel how lucky I’m to work in pediatrics. I wish adult hospitals were more like kid’s hospitals; I feel people would heal faster.

I’ve at all times wanted to participate in a project like this. My life has been filled with opportunities and I even have been fortunate to have access to education and training. The only thing I can do is use my skills and education to assist individuals who don’t even have access to basic medical care. Plus, I knew it might be a life-changing experience. Learning in regards to the struggles of individuals living in poverty all over the world is one thing; it’s one other thing to see it along with your own eyes. I do know that I even have gained more from the people within the neighborhoods of La Romana than I could ever offer them.

Q: What was it like working in nursing outside the United States?

We were working with Dominican doctors and had very limited resources, so pointless to say, the nursing care here was very different from here. We overcame language barriers and encountered different drug dosing practices. It was also a watch opener. One of the older patients we saw had a blood pressure of 210/110. Here within the states, we might conduct a comprehensive examination of this patient. There we had to present you some blood pressure medication and briefly train him, and that is all. Hopefully there will likely be follow-up with some of these patients, but we weren’t there to see it, so it was quite concerning.

Kids. They were filled with joy and happy with what they’d. In the primary factory we visited, child after child took our hands and led us, showing us their fruit trees. Another day, a bunch of about 15 children took us to the sugar cane fields, cut some sugar cane, and showed us the way to taste it. It was beautiful to see the sense of community among the many Batey children. The older child would give the infant medicine or carry it down the hill when the younger child was afraid. They played in large groups of various ages. They walked across the village holding hands. It was inspiring and I hope to offer my future children with a way of community.

The team included 10 American nurses and a number of other Dominican doctors and translators. In previous years, non-medical volunteers (often, e.genagers) also accompanied the Tampa Bay team and helped hand out supplies and play with the youngsters. As nurses, our roleOur job was to measure blood pressure and blood sugar levels, fill prescriptions, administer medications, and distribute supplies. We were capable of ensure correct medication dosing and appropriate antibiotic prescriptions, in addition to screen patients for potential surgical or other detailed follow-up care needs. We also helped translators educate patients on the way to properly take medications.

Access to care. Bateys are sometimes situated in very distant areas, requiring us to travel 30-45 minutes or more by school bus from town. People living there haven’t got cars and there isn’t any public transport. Therefore, more often than not it isn’t possible to get to the doctor’s office or hospital. This is usually an issue for girls giving birth – they often give birth in a ward with no midwife, nurse or medical assistance because they simply cannot get to the hospital. This may pose a threat to the lives of each mother and baby.

The medical clinics we create are temporary – we set them up and shut them in in the future. However The Good Samaritan Mission is a big year-round organization hosting over 60 mission teams all year long. Each team visits several yams, and in total the mission reaches roughly 3,000 people annually in over 100 betas. Unfortunately, there should not enough teams and supplies to succeed in every patient every month, so lots of the people we saw received 30 days of medication but is not going to have the ability to go to one other clinic for months. When it involves heart and diabetes medications, for instance, this can be a really big problem.

I highly recommend joining Team Tampa Bay on a medical mission to La Romana. It was a tremendous experience. Our team leaders work hard to placed on these trips yearly and are at all times in need of more volunteers, supplies and donations. Nurses can even organize their very own mission teams Good Samaritan or get entangled of their other projects, including clean water, construction and Sugar Cane Kids programs.

As I discussed above, nurses have a novel ability to offer solutions to lots of the problems we face in our healthcare system today. Forward-thinking and progressive nurses, whether working in bedside, ambulatory care, management or advanced practice, will seize opportunities to guide us toward a more preventative, holistic approach to health care.

*Disclaimer: The writer of this blog has a private relationship with the interviewee.

Do you already know an inspiring nurse who will likely be honored in the following edition of “Nurses on the Move”? Send your entries by e-mail [email protected].