When Courtney Ruef’s younger brother was born prematurely, she knew that her future would involve nursing and patient care. At six years old, Ruef observed the kind and inclusive qualities of her brother’s nurse, who took care to involve her in his treatment.
“She included me in conversations and gave me a mask with a happy face drawn on it, before she showed me how to hold my brother,” Ruef said. “She was very kind to me and my family, and that really resonated with me.”
In high school, Ruef worked as a medical assistant at a plastic surgeon’s office. She assisted the surgeon and his physician assistant, performing medical charting for them and changing wound dressings for patients. These experiences allowed her to understand medical jargon even before nursing school.
“I was able to see the body’s incredible healing process and step into the medical field, which really confirmed where I wanted to be,” Ruef added.
Ruef graduated college from California Baptist University with a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Nursing, Magna Cum Laude. She also passed her National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN), a standardized test nurses need to pass in order to become a registered nurse.
Following graduation, Ruef worked as a pre-operative and post-operative nurse at an outpatient surgery center working.
“In outpatient centers, such as surgery centers, you refine certain skills rather than using everything you learned at school,” she said.
However, Ruef desired to be in a new graduate nursing program, so that she could fully put all of her skills to use. She transitioned to work at a hospital in California, where she currently operates on the medical and diabetes floor.
“A bachelor-prepared nurse at a hospital has a lot more responsibility than a medical assistant,” Ruef said. “An inpatient hospital is going to have a lot more sick and critical patients than an outpatient surgical center, where the patients are healthy.”
At her current hospital, Ruef treats a variety of people, some of who are diabetic. For her diabetic patients, she monitors their blood pressure and administers insulin accordingly, in addition to their primary course of treatment.
“Although my preferred specialty changed a few times – there are so many different fields in nursing – my desire to become a nurse never wavered,” Ruef said. “Once I started going to clinicals and seeing the role of an inpatient nurse, it made me appreciate them on a whole other level.”
As an inpatient nurse, Ruef provides care for up to five patients at a time.
“I start my shift by arriving early to go over my patients’ charts to understand why each patient is here and what my primary concerns are for each of them,” Ruef said.
Ruef clocks in at 7pm, and receives reports on each patient from the outgoing nurse. She performs assessments on each patient, addresses any pain they are experiencing, and comes up with a “game plan” for her shift.
Then, she starts her first medication pass, a designated time where a patient’s prescribed medications are administered. According to Ruef, there are usually a few “big medication pass times” ordered by the doctors, which are then carried out by the nurses.
Finally, Ruef begins charting, a process by which all of the patient’s assessments, treatments, and other notes are documented. Recordings on the patient’s chart are continually supplemented by doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals.
During her twelve-hour workdays, she continues to make rounds on her patients at least once an hour, making sure that everyone is stable. Towards the end, Ruef gives her report to the incoming nurse, and clocks out as close to 7:30am as she can.
“The biggest challenge I’ve faced as a nurse is the pandemic,” Ruef said. “I was working as a nurse for only about a year before COVID-19 began creeping into our hospitals.”
Ruef was fortunate to have a pre-pandemic nursing foundation, but, along with the rest of the medical community, dealt with the symptoms of the pandemic. As a healthcare worker, she tested positive for COVID-19, and she is still faced with significant, long-term health issues.
“When the pandemic hit, it really showed how hard-working and dedicated our nurses are to our patients,” Ruef added. “I love nursing, and there’s absolutely nothing else I’d rather do.”
Ruef has channeled her passion into ANurseNamedCourtney, a blog specifically geared towards nurses, nursing students, and new graduate nurses.
