– Photo supplied by Tara Elliott
Nurses never quite know what they will be dealing with when a patient arrives at a rural hospital.
In her previous role as a clinic nurse educator, Tara Elliott a registered nurse for Alberta Health Services North Zone taught a variety of courses to emergency and operating room nurses so they could confidently carry out their duties—even if it’s a medical situation they haven’t dealt with recently, or ever.
The courses include a mix of required and optional topics such as advanced life support, anaphylaxis, central venous line insertion, and obstetrics, said Elliott, now a community public health nurse and lactation consultant. Policy and procedure best practices are also taught by clinic nurse educators throughout the province.
“Nurses working in rural areas … might not see a Code Blue [code identifying cardiac or medical emergency] or only see one or two a year.” She said the courses prepare nurses in the Fairview, Grimshaw, Manning, and Peace River region for such a scenario.
“Hopefully, they would feel a little bit more comfortable when that happens.”
— Lorena Franchuk
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