I am a newer nurse with two years of experience and recently transferred to MVHS ED. I cannot say enough how much Angie Halker has impacted my career as a nurse. She has played a huge role in my transition to emergency room nursing.
When we huddle prior to our shift, and I see Angie in our huddle, I know my day is going to be smoother. Angie is the calm among the chaos of the ED. She is the nurse you want as both your lane buddy as well as the triage nurse. When she is my lane buddy, I know I have a backup no matter what patient comes through the doors. She is constantly willing to help and offers her assistance without being asked. I don't think Angie ever turns down the opportunity to help a co-worker.
When Angie triages, she is the hardest worker on the unit. She never passes the buck for someone else to take the patient from triage back to the unit room. She understands when a team has a heavy assignment and instead of sitting down while waiting for another patient, she helps the nurse in need. No task is above Angie to do; she will toilet a patient, pass medications, take a patient upstairs, whatever is needed at the moment. It takes a true team member to be this versatile in the ED. The flow of the ED works better when she is triaging because of her experience as a nurse and hardworking attitude.
Angie is an excellent resource to have during critical situations. During my first MI alert, Angie was working alongside with me. She was extremely calm as I fumbled through the new experience. She allowed me to learn my own way while keeping patient safety a number one priority. It was a great learning experience and now I am much more confident in those situations.
Angie treats each and every patient with respect and dignity. I can only hope that one day I will instill my love for nursing the way she did for me. I feel part of my love for ED nursing comes from the opportunity Angie gave me to learn and grow as a co-worker.