Carissa Mercado

I currently work in the CVICU delivering care to post-surgical cardiac patients and their families. This involves managing surgical incisions, chest tubes, cardio-active IV med infusions, utilizing ventilators, and drawing and interpreting labs and blood gasses. It also involves emotionally supporting and communicating with the patient's family through this process, and encouraging them on their journey to recovery. It has been some of the most rewarding work I have done throughout my nursing career.

I provided telephone triage for pediatric patients through Rady’s Resource Line by utilizing triage protocols to offer care advice, slot patients into appointments at urgent cares and doctors offices, or escalate care. I also worked part time for the Home Monitoring Program tracking cardiac patients and offering an extra layer of support for patients and families.

I worked virtually triage adult and pediatric patients utilizing protocols to offer advice or escalate patients to higher levels of care. I also made in-person home visits where I performed urgent care level nursing interventions.

I worked as a Charge, MICN, Trauma, Triage, and Pediatric Nurse at this facility. Some of my responsibilities included receiving, stabilizing, and caring for trauma, stroke, and STEMI patients, and communicating via radio with fire departments, EMTs, paramedics, and other hospitals to direct patients to the most appropriate receiving hospital, run codes, and manage patients en route to their destinations.