First A Nurse: No Matter Where, No Matter What | Page 11

The off-duty nurse was on her way home at midnight after
working a 12-hour shift in a busy ER. She was traveling on
a 45-mile-per-hour stretch of road when she noticed an
object about 200 feet ahead of her, where a section of the
road was under construction. As she slowed down and pulled
over, she saw that it was a motorcycle, tipped on its side in
the right lane; the motorcyclist was walking in the middle
of the road.
Surveying the scene as she got out of her car, the Spartan
Nurse speculated what had happened. When the motorcyclist
had come into the construction area, his tire must have
slipped off into the deep groove between the road and
the shoulder, causing the motorcycle to fall over onto
the roadway.
Her nursing instinct immediately took over. “Call 911,” she
shouted to a woman driver who had also pulled over to help.
As more traffic came upon the scene, she directed another
driver to help her get the man—and the motorcycle—out of
the road to a safe spot. Disoriented after the crash, the man
attempted to get back on his motorcycle and drive off. His
leg was bleeding and he seemed anxious and confused. The
nurse kept asking him if he’d hit his head. “Don’t call the cops.
Don’t call the cops,” was all he responded. Her examination
of the man quickly revealed why he did not want the police
called to the scene—he was intoxicated.
Keep Calm and Keep Track of Time
The off-duty nurse, the first one to stop at the scene of the
accident that night, was Spartan Nurse Shaina Thurmon.
Remaining calm, she recalled what she had learned in
her MSU nursing courses—almost as if her mind was
automatically “replaying” certain elements from her classes
that she needed at that moment. “One thing I’ll never forget
from nursing school is to pay attention to time. You are
better able to help in an emergency situation when you are
aware of when and how often certain symptoms—such as
disorientation—are occurring,” she says.
The Best Thing about Nursing
“I’m one of those individuals who is very sensitive. When
people are hurting, I want them to feel better, regardless
of whether they’re in the hospital or out and about in the
community,” she says.
She’s also passionate about empowering the next generation
of nurses. Thurmon is chair of the Nurse Practice Council
at Crittenton Hospital, and serves as a preceptor for new
nursing students who practice there. “I am empowering
nurses—educating them, and helping them to feel comfortable
asking questions, because asking questions makes us better
nurses, and that benefits our patients,” she says.
“Life is precious. For me, that’s the best thing about nursing—
the relationships I am able to develop with patients. These
relationships will change you as a person, make you a better
person. I’ve grown a lot since I first became a nurse.”
About that dark night on the highway, Thurmon says: “I am
thankful that I was able to keep the man calm until the EMTs
arrived, and that I was able to keep him from driving off after
the accident and possibly injuring others.”
Acting on Instincts
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