Tara Lamb

• Off tour unit Stroke champion working with the facility stroke coordinator ensuring staff education on Code stroke procedures and policies.
• Responds to all Code Stroke activations during off tour hours, utilizing NTSP and following protocols for TPA administration.
• Built strong relationships with patients and families for optimized care satisfaction.
• Perform daily quality improvement audits resulting in unit recognition as leaders in quality care in the facility.
• Facilitating placement of patients on appropriate units in a timely manner as well as managing flow of the unit.
• Implemented new policies and educated staff on changes.
• Developed and adjusted work schedules for Nursing staff.
• Assessed clinical policies and procedures for compliance with changing regulations.
• Upheld quality assurance procedures to maintain patient safety and satisfaction.

• Critical care nurse in a 14 bed CCU/ICU caring for Veterans with a variety of conditions.
• Responsible and accountable in providing direct patient care and delivering quality nursing care to a culturally diverse veteran population.
• Assist physicians with bedside intubation, bronchoscopy, and endoscopy procedures.
• Management of vasoactive infusions.
• Acting as charge nurse serving as a resource to less experienced nurses and coordinating with hospital staff to manage bed flow and best utilization of available staff for optimal patient care.
• Participating in Progressive Mobility Committee, scheduling committee, and performing regular chart audits to ensure staff is documenting according to the standards set forth by the VA.

Worked in multiple facilities floating amongst different medical and surgical critical care areas and stepdown units.

• Managing vasopressors, antihypertensive infusions, sedation agents and paralytic drugs.
• Management of ventilated patients. Post code patients on hypothermic protocols.
• Care and recovery of critical patients post CABG, LVAD, and VATS procedures .
• ICU's with 1:3 nursing ratio of critically ill patients.

• Worked 24-36 hours per week in a fast paced Interventional Radiology department.
• Providing pre-procedure care by starting IV's, obtaining labs, and conducting a thorough anesthesia assessment for moderate conscious sedation.
• Providing continuous monitoring during and after moderate conscious sedation ensuring safe patient care.

• Starting as a staff nurse then transitioning into the charge role in a 16 bed cardio-thoracic surgical ICU. Working 36-48 hours per week.
• The charge responsibilities of this unit unique in the coordination of patient placement to ensure beds made for the daily case loads.
  
• Caring for patients immediately following Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery, Cardiac Valve replacement, Aortic aneurysm repair, and heart and lung transplantation.
• Carefully providing volume resuscitation and vasopressor management using hemodynamic monitors with Swan Ganz catheters to closely monitor arterial, pulmonary and central venous pressures.
  
• In the past two years transitioning into the role of primary preceptor to both Clinician 1 and Clinician 2 nurse new hires and serving as one of the units Orientation Coordinators.
• As orientation coordinator I changed the system for precepting new graduate nurses providing at most 2 preceptors, scheduled time to meet with each new nurse to get feedback each week.
• Assisting physicians with surgeries and non-invasive procedures including emergent open chests, veno-arterial and veno-venous ECMO cannulation/decannulation, bronchoscopy, and central line insertions.
• Strong leader for nursing personnel assigned to the unit/shift.
• Delegating staff nurse duties daily to ensure optimal patient outcomes.

• In this role I worked 24-36 hours per week in the hospitals' growing float pool; floating to ER, psychiatric unit, medical, surgical, and a cardiac step down unit.
• This position required great time management and flexibility due to the fact that floating 3 times in a twelve hour shift was often the case.

• Transitioning from float pool of CHS-Northeast to a float pool that serves all hospitals in the Carolinas Health system located in the Charlotte area.
• With 13 week contracts on cardiac units in different facilities I further broadened my skill base working 24 hours per week.
• Working on the post cardiac cath/PTCI unit at CHS Main in Charlotte I utilized different techniques in sheath pulls and dressing types to minimize bleeding.

• Working 36 hours per week as a full time staff nurse and progressing to charge nurse within 2 months on the post cardiac catheterization/intervention unit.
• Experience in pulling femoral arterial and venous sheaths.
• Using IStat lab testing of ACT to ensure bleeding times were safe at the time of sheath pulls.
  
• Caring for patients s/p acute MI's, unstable angina, and hypertensive emergencies.
• Managing critical medications such as Integrillin, Dopamine, and Nitroglycerin infusions.
  

• Worked 24-36 hours as a staff nurse in the facility's float pool on various units such as neuroscience, post-surgical, renal, oncology, med/surgical, cardiac step-down units, cardiac intensive care, and intermediate care unit.
• In the critical care areas managing drips such as Integrillin, Heparin, Insulin, Nitroglycerin, and some use of Neosynephrine.
• Care of patients 24-48 hours post open heart surgery on the cardiac units stepdown units.
• Floating to the neuroscience area I became proficient in the care of patients' with acute CVA's and the use of the NIHSS method of scoring strokes.
  

Worked in multiple facilities on stepdown/progressive care units as a travel nurse.

• Utilized multiple computer systems such as McKesson, HBO Care manager, SMS invision, and Meditech.
• Provided care for cardiac monitored patients with a variety of diagnoses such as acute MI, CHF, acute CVA, acute hypertensive emergency, and drug overdoses.
• Cared for patients following procedures such as cardiac catheterization with PCI, carotid artery endarectomy, fem/pop bypass and amputations.
• Provided step down level care for patients following kidney, liver, and multi visceral (stomach, liver, pancreas, small and large intestines) transplant.
• Administered multiple critical infusions including: Dobutamine, Dopamine, Natrecor, Lasix, Insulin, and Diltiazem.

• Starting as a new graduate RN working 36 hours per week on a telemetry unit managing care of chest pain, MI, Renal issues, CHF, post cardiac catheterization, and hypertensive crisis.
• Charge nurse experience after 6 months on unit.
• Using Unity computerized documentation and order entry.