A Career Path to the Emergency Room

For some nurses, the fast-paced, never-know-what-you’re-going-to-get days in the Emergency Department (ED) might not sound very appealing. But for Carrie Gargis, it’s right where she wants to be.

Carrie started out in the ED at Children’s of Alabama when she was in nursing school. “I was able to start shadowing and cross-training in the Emergency Department when I was a clinical assistant, and I was also able to do my preceptorship in the ED, which was great because I felt like I was able to start orientation a little early,” Carrie said. “It allowed me to learn from other nurses and ask a lot of questions before I ever even graduated.”

Carrie was eventually hired on full-time as a clinical assistant in the ED. She spent four years in the ED before moving to other departments at Children’s, including One Day Surgery and the surgery recovery unit. “After working in so many different parts of the hospital, I really grew to appreciate the opportunity to work in the emergency department,” she said. “When I first started in the ED, I didn’t have kids, so I didn’t understand the importance of using the parents as a resource. Now I see that the parents are one of the greatest resources we have when it comes to determining what is going on with each child.”

In addition to working alongside the parents to best take care of their children, Carrie also appreciates other aspects of the ED. One of those is the respect given to nurses by the rest of the staff. “In the emergency department, we are very much respected by the doctors,” she said. “They really do look to us as a resource. They sit down with us and ask us what we think. It’s nice to feel like an important part of the team.”

Carrie also values the hospital’s new state-of-the-art facilities. “The facilities at Children’s are amazing,” Carrie said. “The facilities do provide for better care because we have room to work. In the ED, we can run a full code in any of the rooms.”

After working at Children’s through major life changes such as having three children, Carrie appreciates the care she is given as well. From working with human resources to family insurance options to retirement plan offerings, Carrie knows she has a team behind her that supports her while she’s striving to take the best care possible of every child who comes her way. “There are so many things I love about Children’s,” Carrie said. “It means a lot to be working at a hospital that’s all about the children. Everyone at the hospital is all about the kids, and that makes it such a special place. Then to have people there who I know care about me and want the best for me, it’s huge. I just can’t say enough about Children’s.”