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High-Octane Nursing

The Thrill

According to Carol Howat, RN, BSN, a nurse in the emergency room of Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights, Illinois, for more than a decade, it’s adrenaline that keeps her alert to respond to the volume and variety of patients moving through the ER.

“You hear the overhead page ‘trauma alert, three minutes,’ and in those three minutes your heart starts beating faster,” says Howat, a certified emergency nurse (CEN). “You don’t get nervous, but your adrenaline starts pumping.”

High overhead, Teri Campbell’s blood is flowing as she leaps into action. Campbell, RN, BSN, CEN, is the chief flight nurse for Air Angels, a critical-care transportation provider based in West Chicago, Illinois. She and her teammates, one paramedic and one pilot, respond to emergencies in a Bell 222 EMS helicopter. “We’re adrenaline junkies,” she says. “We love the excitement of not knowing what’s coming around the corner.”