Gail Songdahl

Operating room staff nurse-circulator

Provide care of patients including pediatric and adult during preoperative period. Provide care and intravenous conscious sedation during pain injection procedures. Assist in positioning for comfort/safety of patients. Provide accurate care and handling of specimens. Observe and enforce strict standards of asepsis. Observes, checks, monitors and troubleshoots all equipment used during surgery. Serves as communication liaison to family and members of the operating team. Ensures operating on correct patent and correct procedure performed. Records all information concisely, accurately and completely in a timely manner in the electronic medial record. Prepares operating room for patient and procedure. On call for emergency surgeries on a rotational basis. Credentialed trainor in EPIC OpTime. Management of inventory and tracking use of human tissues log. Preceptor for new nursing staff.

10 years Cardiac Electrophysiology Lab.

Provided preoperative and technological assistance to patient undergoing diagnostic and/or interventional cardiac electrophysiology procedures. Scrub assist to physician during pacemaker and defibrillator implants/extractions and interventional procedures. Provided intravenous conscious sedation. Charge nurse duties include expediting procedures in 3 labs and troubleshooting equipment. Nurse preceptor for new staff. Verified and monitored purchased bulk pacemaker, defibrillator and lead orders and provided monthly inventory. Calculated lab and physician statistics and reported findings on a monthly basis to upper management.

4 years Cardio-Thoracic Recovery Unit.

Post-op management of patients after open heart surgery including coronary artery bypass grafting, valve replacement/repair and ventricular assist device insertion. Provided advanced technological nursing care extending through 24-48 hours post-operative period to cardiothoracic surgery patients immediately recovering from anesthesia and hypothermia. Management and weaning of mechanical ventilation and determination and evaluation of appropriate extubation criteria.

2 years Cardiac Catheterization Lab

Prepared patients and provided technological assistance for diagnostic and/or interventional procedures. Assisted physician during coronary angioplasty, directional coronary athrectomy and intra -aortic balloon pump insertion. Provided intravenous conscious sedation. On call for emergencies on rotational basis. Monitored patents during immediate post- procedure recovery.

Staff Registered Nurse in Intensive Care Unit full time for 1 year and in between all temporary Travel Nurse contracts. (Details of temporary Travel Nurse contracts provided upon request).

Staff Licensed Practical Nurse April 1980-June 1987. Provided nursing care in Intensive Care Unit under supervision of Registered Nurse. Staff Float position Saint Joseph's Medical Center Bloomington, Il while pursuing Bachelors Degree in Nursing. Worked weekends in medical office of Dr. Robert Heins, D.O. as LPN.