Upclose and Personal with Nurse Eliry Queen

 What type of nurse are you?

Registered Nurse

What are your credentials?

BSN, RN, PHN

Where do you work?

Children’s Hospital Orange County

Why did you decide to become a nurse? And why did you choose your particular field of nursing?

I chose to be a nurse because I felt the need to be in a field of caring. Caring with purpose. A purpose that meant more than myself. In nursing school I had the desire to work in either pediatrics or the emergency department. Fortunately, I managed to work in both specialties. Before becoming an RN, I worked as an LVN in pediatric Home Health and I volunteered at two different children’s hospitals. I was eager and sure of the field I truly felt as my calling.

Tell us about your field of nursing.

I work as a registered nurse in pediatric emergency. We are a rare breed who care for the small in the big world in times of crisis. In this field, we deal with a lot of trauma/accidents, the degree of trauma is based on the mechanism of injury and/or the resiliency of the child. Therefore, one must be fast on their feet and act accordingly to the situation. Pediatric emergency is scary because there is more than one specific age group with all the different physiological, developmental and cognitive components. The stigma today in working in pediatrics (peds) is having to “deal” with the parents or crying kids, but understand in any job that you will work in as a nurse, “family-centered care” will always be an integral part. As for the crying, the laughter, giggles and squeals is just as rewarding. -A typical day in peds ED, kind of depends of the day of the week. On a weekday, patients do not tend to stop by until after lunch or after school and that is when the lacerations, abdominal pains or ingestions like to make their way here; the morning is usually saved for the respiratory kiddos. On a weekend, usually in the morning or late afternoon because of all the sports tournaments fractures are the glorified complaint. Overall, it’s the ED you can never tell how the flow is going to be accidents happen at any time.

What do you love about your job?

I love my job for the team work involved. Thankfully I work in a place that has enough resources to help out. It’s not like the MedSurg floor where it’s 4:1 or the ICU where it’s 3:1. Sometimes on a busy day acuity and ratios are not the pivotal factor. We are the first line of care when patients walk through those doors, so team work is key. Critical thinking and common sense are key. Love your job when you know what you’re doing. Love your job when you have the support to keep you going. You don’t have that everywhere.

What is the most challenging part of your job?

The most challenging part of my job, I would say is knowing you can’t do it all. You may be drowning with all the procedures to do, medications to give, and assessments to chart. Even with the resources available, sometimes you barely feel like you’ve made it above water. But just remember at the end of the day, ask yourself: Did I keep my patient safe? Was my care effective? If you’re answering, ” Yes,” then the quantity of the work today does not matter.