In some Ways, working as a registered
nurse in a suburban hospital
Emergency Department is very
similar to the portrayals of hospital emergency
rooms on television. The adrenaline,
the teamwork and the breakneck pace are
all part of a typical day, inasmuch as any
day can be considered to be “typical.” Yet
there is much about the day-to-day reality of
Huntington Hospital’s Emergency Department
that is far removed from Hollywood’s
version. Three nurses recently shared their
thoughts on their unique careers.
Maureen Ibrahim, RN, CCRN, CEN, BSN
Maureen Ibrahim, RN, CCRN, CEN, BSN,
is Assistant Nurse Manager of
Huntington’s Emergency Department.
She has worked at Huntington for 11 years,
after spending 18 years in various roles at
New York City hospitals.
“I thought I was coming to a quiet community
hospital when I came to Huntington,”
she said. “But I see the same things
here that I saw in the city, including the
occasional gunshot wounds, stab wounds,
and other emergencies that I never thought
I’d see here.”
As a manager, Ms. Ibrahim sees herself
as an advocate for every patient in the ED.
“I like to know what’s going on with all
the patients,” she explained. “I help keep
the lines of communication open between
the attending physician, the intensivist,
and the hospitalist.”
With Huntington Hospital’s Emergency
Department volume approaching 50,000
visits annually, which breaks down to more
than 130 patients each day, Ms. Ibrahim
focuses on getting patients evaluated as
quickly as possible.
“My primary goal is to get my patients
home as soon as possible,” she said. “We
try to keep the waiting room empty by
getting our patients into a bed and with
the doctor as fast as we can.”
Much has evolved in the practice of
nursing over the nearly 30 years since
Ms. Ibrahim first joined the field. Medical
technology has advanced dramatically, and
so have procedures that ensure the safety
of both patients and staff.
“When I first started, there was no such
thing as gloves,” she said. “We had to be
very vigilant with hand washing.”
The role of the registered nurse has
evolved along with practice guidelines.
“We’re doing more than ever before,” Ms. Ibrahim confirmed.
The one thing that has not changed is
the need for an ED nurse to never become
complacent.
“At any time, anything can come
through our doors, from birth to death,” she concluded. “We need to be ready and to
anticipate what our next patient will need.”
Karen Porti, RN
Karen Porti, RN, spent the first three years
of her nursing career at another Long
 Island hospital before joining Huntington’s
Emergency Department. She balances her
demanding career with being a mom to
three sons, ages 12, seven and four. Saving
lives is a family affair for Mrs. Porti, who is
married to a New York City fireman.
“My 12-year-old thinks it’s cool,” she
said. “He’ll ask us, ‘Who’d you save today?’
Not everybody can say that.”
It’s a career that Mrs. Porti has always
been drawn to. She was an EMT before
becoming a nurse. Working in the ED
seems to suit her personality.
“I like the unpredictability, the fast pace,
the adrenaline,” she said. “It’s a different
environment from any other in healthcare.
And once you’ve done it, it’s hard to do
anything else.”
Part of the appeal for Mrs. Porti is the
diversity.
“We’ve delivered babies in the parking
lot and taken care of 106 year olds,” she
said. “ED nurses are competent in
everything from newborn to geriatric care.
There’s no other specialty like that.”
Mrs. Porti often finds that people have
misperceptions about what emergency
nursing entails.
“Some people are surprised at how much
nurses do, how much autonomy we have
and how much education and training we
need,” she noted. “We think on our own. We
sometimes catch things that others miss.”
Given the non-stop pace of the
emergency department, one would expect
that Mrs. Porti’s ideal day at work would be
a quiet one with only a few patients. But
nothing could be further from the truth.
“My best day is a day with happy outcomes,”
she explained. “We recently took
care of a two-year-old baby who choked on a
cotton hair tie. My shift was over and I was
walking out when she came in. I turned
around, took my jacket off, and didn’t leave
for two hours. Tension was high, but it was a
great team environment. If we didn’t remove
the obstruction she would have died.”
This story’s happy ending came a few
days later, when Mrs. Porti and her
colleagues learned that the child had
walked out of the hospital with no deficits.
“That’s the kind of positive outcome
that makes it all worthwhile,” she said.
Sue Manning, RN, CEN
“Most people don’t get up and say I love my
job. Not a lot of people can do the job we do.
I feel that I work with an elite group of
people,” said Sue Manning, RN, CEN. Ms.
Manning has spent 13 years in Huntington’s
Emergency Department, 22 years as a
nurse, and 25 years as an EMT riding with
Huntington Community Ambulance.
“Sometimes I bring patients in on the
ambulance and then take care of them
when I come in for my shift,” she said. “It
is true continuity of care.”
Ms. Manning’s desire to become a
nurse was fueled by her experiences with
her mother, who was diagnosed with
cancer when Sue was 12 and lived with the
disease for 23 years.
“I rode in the ambulance with her when
I was a girl. She had a slow growing cancer
and underwent a lot of chemo and had her
leg amputated,” Ms. Manning recalled. “I
saw a lot of things I liked, and some things
I didn’t like. I became a nurse because I
wanted to make a difference.”
Like her colleagues, Ms. Manning is
hooked on the excitement and diversity of
emergency nursing.
“I have no fear of the unknown,” she
explained. “Whatever happens, you’re
never alone. When things get chaotic, you
turn around and there could be 20 people
in the room helping.”
While she shares a tight bond with her
coworkers, Ms. Manning said that she
sometimes has a tough time explaining to
her friends exactly what her job entails.
“No one outside of the ED really understands
what I do,” she commented. “I could
be defibrillating a cardiac patient one
moment, and comforting a 92-year-old man
whose wife is dying the next. There is so
much diversity it can be difficult to explain.”
Yet she has no difficulty describing her
perfect day at work.
“That would be any day that I can say I
made a difference in someone else’s life,”
she stated. “Whether it be by talking,
holding their hand, giving them the meds
that save their life, or seeing something that
no one else saw. The best day is when I walk
out the door saying I made a difference.” //
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