{"id":7340,"date":"2023-10-11T14:00:22","date_gmt":"2023-10-11T14:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/?p=7340"},"modified":"2023-10-11T21:00:49","modified_gmt":"2023-10-11T21:00:49","slug":"pacu-nurse-kathryn-sandberg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/inspiration\/pacu-nurse-kathryn-sandberg\/","title":{"rendered":"Rx for Success: PACU Nurse Kathryn Sandberg Advocates for Herself So She Can Advocate for Her Patients"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Vivian Health\u2019s ongoing Rx for Success<\/strong> series, we profile a healthcare provider from our platform each week, highlighting critical career moments fueling their renewed passion for healthcare. <\/em><\/p>\n

Recently, Vivian Health spoke with Kathryn Sandberg about her mid-career transition from <\/span>medical assistant<\/span><\/a> to registered nurse (RN), what it’s like to work as a Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) nurse, advocacy for LGBTQ+ patients and her role in treating victims from August 2023\u2019s devastating wildfires in Maui.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sandberg described herself to Vivian as a single mother of two who had struggled for 23 years while working as a medical assistant in the St. Louis, Missouri area.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBeing a medical assistant is a good entry-level position, but it’s certainly not optimal,\u201d she explained. \u201cYou get medical experience, but they don’t pay very well, especially when you’re trying to raise children by yourself.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Advocating for Yourself and Your Career<\/b><\/h3>\n

Across her career, Sandberg recognized an important practice to help her advance \u2014 networking with higher-level healthcare professionals for their mentorship and support. She explained that if you don\u2019t ask for opportunities, the answer will always be \u201cNo.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

After sharing with supervisors her desire to become an RN, one doctor helped her transition to a private practice office offering more pay and a regular schedule that would provide her the time to pursue a <\/span>Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)<\/span><\/a> on nights and weekends, once her sons were old enough to be home unsupervised.<\/span><\/p>\n

After several years of effort, Sandberg emerged as an RN, working her first two years in a pediatric oncology unit.<\/span><\/p>\n

Later, with her sons grown up and ready to join the military, Sandberg learned about her own opportunities to see more of the United States as a travel nurse. A flight attendant friend introduced Sandberg to Maui, Hawaii, and she fell in love with it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maui lacks a pediatric hospital, so Sandberg first had to train in adult care to work there. Once again, networking helped. A doctor from earlier in her career helped Sandberg find a fellowship in adult nursing in St. Louis \u2014 training that allowed her to take a travel contract and later a staff position in Maui.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Kathryn
Kathryn with the late Willie K, one of Maui\u2019s most revered musicians. He\u2019s played with Fleetwood Mac, Steven Tyler, Willie Nelson and many others.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Seeking a Greater Challenge as a PACU Nurse<\/b><\/h3>\n

Like many nurses profiled in our <\/span>Rx for Success series<\/span><\/a>, Sandberg eventually wanted to enter a more advanced specialty. She set her sights on a role as a PACU nurse.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most health systems require PACU nurses to have ICU experience, which Sandberg didn\u2019t have at the time. Once more, she advocated for herself by informing her health system\u2019s hiring manager about her desire to switch to an <\/span>ICU role<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was so important that I reached out to her and let her know what I wanted to do and why,\u201d Sandberg explained. \u201cIf I didn’t do that, that application would be getting tossed right out because I didn’t have prior ICU experience.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Sandberg landed her ICU role, then became a <\/span>PreOp \/ PACU RN<\/span><\/a>, which she\u2019s worked as ever since.<\/span><\/p>\n

PACU nurses are part of a general umbrella known as perioperative nurses who work on a team with surgeons and anesthesia doctors to prepare patients for surgery, perform surgery and provide the necessary post-surgical care.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI would compare PACU nursing to ER nursing, where you have patients for a limited amount of time to take care of them, ensure they’re waking up safely and send them home or admit them to the floor.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Depending on the health system, a PACU nurse might also function as a PreOp nurse.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI do pre-op and post-op. We get patients ready for surgery. We start their IVs. We go over their orders, health history and medications. We may have to do blood work or an EKG and make sure that the anesthesiologist is ready to approve them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

PACU nurses may provide care to a range of patients with a variety of possible outcomes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe do everything from endoscopy to cardiac catheterizations. We will recover patients who may have had an intervention,\u201d she explained. \u201cThey may go home, or we may hold them until the ICU has a bed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCompared to the ER or ICU nursing, it is generally much less stressful. You have more control over the situation because the patient coming to you usually isn’t fragile. Most of the time, they’re going home.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Multiple Benefits from Travel Nursing<\/b><\/h3>\n
\"Kathryn
Kathryn with her oldest son in Oahu<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lately, Sandberg has done some stints as a <\/span>travel PACU nurse<\/span><\/a>. She sees multiple benefits to travel nursing, including the ability to see more of the U.S., a way to escape poorly managed health systems and a path to financial security.<\/span><\/p>\n

For instance, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sandberg found herself working at a health system that was poorly managing supplies and personal protective equipment for its staff. She was feeling burnt out under the conditions.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy friend and I said, \u2018What are we doing here? Let’s go travel!\u2019 So that’s when we started travel nursing again.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Sandberg took a travel position on a Navajo Nation reservation in Arizona. Federal facilities, such as those on many Native American reservations, accept licensure from any state, making these facilities an easy choice for travel nurses. She and her friend would schedule three shifts in a row and then spend their time exploring the scenic desert and mountain landscapes of the Four Corners region.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
\nPhoto Credit:<\/b> Braindrain0000, CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/em><\/small><\/p>\n

Travel nursing<\/span><\/a>\u00a0often entails higher pay, so it’s helping this once-struggling single mom to get on a path to financial security.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTravel nursing is basically how I am funding my retirement because as a single mom starting later in life, all of my money that first half of my life went to supporting my kids,\u201d she said. \u201cNow I’ve got this 20-year span ahead of me where I can use travel nursing to get money for retirement and have a work-life balance that is really important to me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Advocacy for LGBTQ+ Patients<\/b><\/h3>\n

Sandberg told Vivian that no matter where she travels, she sees her job as a way to be a fierce advocate for the LGBTQ+ community and BIPOC people, an acronym for Black, Indigenous and People of Color.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDepending on where I’m at in the country, on one occasion or another, I have had to remind a nurse that we are here for every patient no matter their background.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Sandberg recalled a time when a fellow nurse refused to care for a gay patient. She stepped in to provide care so that the patient would never know the other nurse had refused to care for him. \u201cI’m walking in there, and the patient can see my ID badge and one of the little pins I have just says \u2018Safe Space\u2019 in rainbow colors. We had a great shift. It was great.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/b>5 Ways to Improve Care for Your LGBTQ+ Patients<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Using Vivian for Its Breadth of Information<\/b><\/h3>\n

With her varied career, Sandberg sees Vivian Health as a platform for exploring the full range of possibilities available to nurses.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe best part about it really is that you can discover different travel nursing companies and investigate what benefits they offer and who has the best fit for you,\u201d she said. \u201cI love that Vivian seems to have the breadth of knowledge that they do and the breadth of resources that they do for all these different travel nursing companies.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As for her own multi-phase career from medical assistant to pediatric RN, then from ICU to PACU and staff nursing to travel:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI hope it inspires people who are having that midlife crisis or who’re not really sure what to do,\u201d Sandberg offered. \u201cIt’s not too late to go back to school, and it’s not too late if you are already a nurse to learn a new specialty. You can always explore and see what’s out there. And again, the answer is always no if you don’t ask.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Begin your own adventures in nursing and start your job search <\/a>with Vivian today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Learn how one medical assistant advanced to PACU nursing and advocates for LGBTQ+ patients.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":7341,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[7],"tags":[18],"class_list":["post-7340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiration","tag-allhcp"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/09\/Kathryn-Blog-Header-e1695139802458.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/50"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7340"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7340\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}