Shayleen Smith

I am a nurse extern/ PCT at Lewis Gale Medical Center on a Cardiac PCU floor. Since working this job, I have learned so many valuable lessons and skills that I will be able to carry over into my job as a registered nurse. I have learned communication skills, teamwork, diversity, working with patients and their families, blood glucose monitoring, EKG's, bladder scans, telemetry, EKG strips, and I also:

• Monitor vital signs and reported changes to nursing staff
• Assist nurses with essential tasks
• Enhance patient satisfaction by providing compassionate and attentive care.
• Measure I&O's during the day and empty all drains and tubes.
• Assist in training new Patient Care Technicians, sharing knowledge and best practices to ensure consistency in care delivery.
• Maintain clean and safe environment to promote patient safety and comfort.
• Assist with feeding and monitored intake to help patients achieve nutritional objectives.

While working this job I learned how to work customer service with returning items and finding items, discounts, and different holiday deals. I also was the lead employee over online orders, making sure the items were in the right places in the stores, they were in condition for the customer, and that they were to the customer in a timely manner. I was also a head cashier putting out money in the mornings from the cash registers and picking it back up in the evenings, over riding manually on certain items, making sure the employees got breaks and lunches on time, opening and closing certain departments, helping with any problems throughout the store, and helping with scheduling throughout the week.

This job taught me a lot about communication with healthcare providers, allowed me to learn how to communicate with doctors, nurses, EMS, firefighters, police officers, family members, patients, and more. I also:

• Connected callers with appropriate professional, department, or business.
• Announced important information and emergency notifications over PA system.
• Made schedules and took consults for doctors.
• Talked with patients and families about appointments, and took any incoming calls to the hospital.

• Managed high-stress situations effectively, maintaining professionalism under pressure while resolving disputes or conflicts.
• Resolved customer complaints with empathy, resulting in increased loyalty and repeat business.
• I learned communication skills, sales, customer service, scheduling, entertainment, how to work under pressure and in a busy business.
• Responded to customer requests for products, services, and company information.