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CAN I GET
A LITTLE RESPEC.C.T.!
The Role of the (CCT) Critical Care Transport RN
By Terrance Ito, RN, BSN, CEN
Founder, Nurses-Forum |
A
mysterious yet disrespected field in nursing is that of
the CCT (Critical Care Transport) RN. Often hospital
nurses scoff the moment we enter. Believe me, I've heard
it all. A counterpart once said that I was either a
glorified EMT or a sub-standard nurse. Other occasions I
was mistaken for a paramedic. I just point at my name
tag. It funny when this happens, just like a deer caught
in headlights. Why all the ignorance? My thought was
that I had to bring to light the importance and value of
the CCT RN.
Almost all
CCT RN are veteran nurses from the ER or the ICU. Come
on people, we definitely put our time in. The alphabet
soup of certification we hold consist of ACLS, PALS,
CCRN, CEN, TNCC, PHTLS, ATLS, and so on. While other
nurses were having and enjoying their day off we sat in
some hot cramped classroom in pursuit of infinite
wisdom. Also, extensive training takes place before we
are even allowed to come into contact with a patient.
Classes stem from airway management, pharmacology,
advance life support, managing portable ventilators to
trauma protocols. I couldn't believe all the info they
beaten into me, it was definitely mind numbing. All this
information is drilled in until it can be repeated its
repeated back to the instructor in a monotone zombied
out voice.
The back of
the ambulance resembles a compact ER. Being of Asian
decent I felt flattered that they designed a workspace
especially for me. Standard equipment entails IV pumps,
pulse oximetry, monitor, airway equipment, and plethora
of drugs. Almost all life saving procedure is provided
here. A CCT RN is prepared for anything, so I was
taught. It doesn't stop there, any equipment, and boy do
I mean any equipment (I.e., balloon pumps, LVAD, etc.),
no matter how archaic was along for the ride.
To make it
out there a nurse has to be intelligent, witty, and
quick on their feet. Unusual situation and circumstances
are the norm. A solid foundation of critical care in
conjunction with extensive training creates basically a
nurse ready for anything and everything. Just remember
you can never be ready for anything, I learned that
lesson the hard way. However, the main goal is to keep
continuity of care from the sending to the receiving
hospital. In most cases patient care and outcome
improves primarily due to the 1:1 ratio. Its an awesome
profession devoting care to a single patient at a time.
Just
remember its another thankless job, we are not special
and are all on the same team. Our goals are the
identical (get that patient away from us as fast as we
can). So the next time a CCT RN crosses your path please
show a little respeCCT.
Original source at
http://news.nurses-forum.com/blog/
