Valerie Cruz
Milwaukee,WI
Summary
Seasoned healthcare professional with extensive experience in patient care and medical assistance, notably at Ascension Columbia St Mary's. Excelled in vital signs monitoring and patient advocacy, demonstrating strong clinical judgment and compassionate caregiving. Proven track record in improving patient outcomes and efficiency in fast-paced environments.
Overview
6
6
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Nurse Intern
Ascension Columbia St Mary's
Milwaukee, WI
05.2024 - Current
- Working side by side with RNs to provide the best care possible for patients
- Assessing patients various times a shift to ensure that they have any changes occurring
- Assist with daily care such as personal hygiene and daily mobility
- Daily management of health illnesses such as traumatic burns
- Daily medication administration via various med administration routes
Telemetry Tech/Student Nurse Tech
Select Specialty Hospital
Milwaukee, WI
03.2023 - Current
- Interpret telemetry strips
- Monitor heart rates
- Monitor call lights
- Monitor for code blues
- Bathing, Feeding, Personal Hygiene
- Mobilize patients
- Mouth care, Peri care
- Measuring and recording input and output
- Checking vital signs
- Blood sugar check
- Providing companionship
- Observe changes in patients condition
- Communicate patients condition with provider and charge nurse
Medical Assistant/Surgery Scheduler
Crystal Canyon ENT & Facial Plastic Surgery, P.C.
Flagstaff, AZ
02.2022 - 01.2023
- Taking vitals
- Rooming patients and Turing patient rooms over
- Audio screening using tymp, OAE, and audio booth
- Sterilizing equipment
- Answering phone calls and scheduling patients
- Giving weekly allergy injections, performing blood draws, and allergy skin testing
- Scheduling surgery and communicating between surgery centers
Lead Caregiver/Med Tech
Highgate Senior Living
Flagstaff, AZ
06.2021 - 02.2022
- Manage residents care, update residents service plan
- Administer daily medications to residents, check daily vitals
- Assist with activity of daily living
- Aid residents during meal, reordered medications and diabetic supplies
- Manage morning shift to ensure all resident needs are met, create schedule
- Ensure all supplies needed are stocked such as cups, spoons, pill crushers, and safety lancets
- Daily use of electronic medication records
Lead Caregiver/Med Tech
The Peaks, A Senior Living Community
Flagstaff, AZ
08.2019 - 05.2021
- Create resident service plans, administer daily medications
- Assist with activities of daily living, assist in personal hygiene care
- Reorder medications, communicate with pharmacy and insurance coverage
- Ensure family and resident needs and concerns are met
- Provide end of life care
- Redirect resident in memory care when they get upset
- Daily use of electronic medication records
Team Member
Bridge of Hope
Santo Domingo, PR
01.2020 - 01.2020
- Assisted in a medical clinic on the Dominican Republic/Haiti border
- Translated for families from Spanish to English
- Ran the lab, performed malaria test, hemoglobin test, pregnancy test, and check blood glucose of patients coming into the clinic
- Packed prescribed doses of medications in the pharmacy
- Gave resources to young mothers to help them provide best care possible for their children
Medical Intern
World Gospel Outreach
Honduras, IN
05.2019 - 07.2019
- Medical intern, assisted in setting up weekly medical brigades in local churches
- Translated from Spanish to English, and English to Spanish
- Took vitals of patients coming in for medical help
- Packed monthly doses of prescription medications
- Took pharmacy inventory and set up pharmacy travel trunks
- Assisted dental with teeth cleanings and bring supplies needed for fillings and extractions
- Ran the auto refractor for the optometrist
- Provided lice treatment for children, and shared a bible story with them
Volunteer
Phoenix Children's Hospital
Phoenix, AZ
09.2018 - 04.2019
- Volunteer patient transport, transported children from ER to various locations such as X-ray, ultrasound, and MRI
- Transported child patients from hospital room to surgery
- Took patients lab samples from floor nurse to hospital lab
Education
Master's degree - Nursing
Alverno College
Wisconsin12-2024
Bachelor's degree - Biology
Grand Canyon University
Phoenix, AZ04.2019
Skills
- Vital Signs
- Caregiving
- Patient Care
- Memory Care
- Food Preparation
- Home Care
- Organizational Skills
- Cleaning
- Translation
- Medication Administration
- Dementia Care
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office
- Computer Operation
- Medical Terminology
- Laboratory Experience
- Hospital Experience
- Care plans
- Safety plans
- Supervising experience
- Produce Experience
- Alzheimer's Care
- EMR Systems
- Infection Control Training
- Phlebotomy
- Experience Administering Injections
- ICD-10
- Medical Records
- Microsoft Word
- Epic
- Venipuncture
- Medical Office Experience
- Clinical judgment
- End of life care
- Vital signs monitoring
- Documentation accuracy
- Personal hygiene management
- Healthcare technology
- Nursing team support
- IV management
- Sanitation
- Oxygen saturation standards
- Diabetes management
- CPR Certification
- Team building
- Health Promotion
- Physical Assessment
- Pain Management
- Insulin medication assistance
- Medical Equipment Operation
- Patient Advocacy
Certification
- Certified caregiver, 12/01/21, Present, Certified to administer medications in a facility.
- Direct care worker, 09/01/18, Present, Certified to provide direct care at home or in a facility.
- CPR & First Aid, 01/01/23, 01/31/25
- BLS Certification, 01/01/23, 01/31/25
- Certified Phlebotomy Technician, 02/01/22, 02/29/24
- Certified Medication Aide
Languages
Spanish, Fluent
Personal Information
Work Permit: Authorized to work in the US for any employer
Languages
Spanish
Professional
Timeline
Nurse Intern
Ascension Columbia St Mary's
05.2024 - Current
Telemetry Tech/Student Nurse Tech
Select Specialty Hospital
03.2023 - Current
Medical Assistant/Surgery Scheduler
Crystal Canyon ENT & Facial Plastic Surgery, P.C.
02.2022 - 01.2023
Lead Caregiver/Med Tech
Highgate Senior Living
06.2021 - 02.2022
Team Member
Bridge of Hope
01.2020 - 01.2020
Lead Caregiver/Med Tech
The Peaks, A Senior Living Community
08.2019 - 05.2021
Medical Intern
World Gospel Outreach
05.2019 - 07.2019
Volunteer
Phoenix Children's Hospital
09.2018 - 04.2019
- Certified caregiver, 12/01/21, Present, Certified to administer medications in a facility.
- Direct care worker, 09/01/18, Present, Certified to provide direct care at home or in a facility.
- CPR & First Aid, 01/01/23, 01/31/25
- BLS Certification, 01/01/23, 01/31/25
- Certified Phlebotomy Technician, 02/01/22, 02/29/24
- Certified Medication Aide
Master's degree - Nursing
Alverno College
Bachelor's degree - Biology
Grand Canyon University
Similar Profiles
Darlene RohdeDarlene Rohde
ORA at Ascension Columbia St Mary's MilwaukeeORA at Ascension Columbia St Mary's Milwaukee
Braden FlintBraden Flint
Technician - Patient Care PCT at Ascension Columbia St. Mary'sTechnician - Patient Care PCT at Ascension Columbia St. Mary's
Raymundo BerumenRaymundo Berumen
Director of Medical Imaging at Ascension Columbia St. Mary's HospitalDirector of Medical Imaging at Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Hospital