Abigail Carpenter

As a registered nurse in the Neurologic Surgical Intensive Care Unit (NSICU), I am responsible for providing direct care and monitoring of critically ill patients, including but not limited to patients suffering from neurogenic shock, intra-cerebral hemorrhage, cerebral salt wasting, subdural hemorrhage, cerebral edema, aneurysmal-subarachnoid hemorrhage, and ischemic cerebral vascular accidents. My employment has required competency and comfortability with externalized ventricular drains for patients who require intracranial pressure monitoring and decompression from intraventricular hemorrhage. As an intensive care unit nurse in the Neurologic Surgical Intensive Care Unit (NSICU), I have recovered many patients postoperatively who have arterial lines, pulmonary artery catheters, and invasive mechanical ventilation. I am proficient at hemodynamic monitoring, interpretation, and management of these devices. I am highly skilled in in-depth neurological assessments and recognizing early change in status.
As a Trauma-Certified registered nurse, I triage and care for patients who have injuries of traumatic mechanisms such as intra-parenchymal hemorrhage or cauda equina. As an intensive care unit nurse, I have also actively participated in goals of care discussions. I am well-experienced with palliative care and comfort care measures and have aided in organ procurement efforts with Midwest Transplant Network.

At Care Beyond the Boulevard, I delivered high-quality care to diverse populations while overseeing patient triage with limited resources. This was often done in an ambulatory setting or a small clinic adjacent to a shelter. I advocated for patients and provided multiple resources for those experiencing homelessness. I provided education regarding vaccinations and viral illness testing. The level of acuity in patients would vary from refilling prescriptions to assessing an unresponsive potential drug overdose. I assisted in the initial assessment and triage of these patients, labeling their medication, providing medication education, obtaining blood for laboratory work-ups, and medication administration when indicated.