story and photo by James Coburn, Staff Writer
Select Specialty Hospital feels like home for Kate McSorley, a registered nurse serving critically ill patients at the Oklahoma City hospital.
This is McSorley’s second go-around with Select Specialty Hospital. She first worked at the critical care recovery hospital for three years and returned in March after utilizing her skills for two years at the Federal Bureau of Prisons. She also worked as a clinical instructor.
“It’s one of the first jobs I had out of nursing school, and I learned so much here,” McSorley said.
McSorley will be attending graduate school this fall at Duke University to specialize in endocrinology. She is a nursing school graduate of Oklahoma City Community College. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology and Public Health from the University of Central Oklahoma. (story continues below)
“Even now 10 years later, there are so many people who work here that worked here a decade ago and that’s reassuring,” she continued. “So, it was like coming home. The opportunity kind of fell into my lap and it was just the right time.”
The orientation process is comprehensive at Select Specialty Hospital. She tells recent nursing school graduates not to be intimidated. There are valuable learning opportunities and new nursing staff members are never alone.
“We are a team. You are going to learn a ton,” she said. “Everything you learned in a textbook you’re going to learn in a patient’s room. It’s just going to click. You’ll be grateful that you worked here.”
Patients who are transferred there have been hospitalized in a hospital ICU for at least three days. The 72-bed, free-standing hospital has 12 dedicated ICU beds for critically ill patients on endotracheal tubes, vents, and different types of drips. There are 60 regular floor beds. Best practices include vent management, weaning, tracheotomies, wound care, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech, and cognitive therapies.
“I try to do a little bit of everything. I try to focus on the ICU now and learning about that,” McSorley said.
Nurses and therapists get patients walking, talking, breathing, thinking, and eating again. An average hospitalization time is 25 days or more.
“We see patients here from weeks to months,” she said. “So, our focus is for the marathon and not a sprint. We not only take care of their current problems, but we take care of them psychosocially and spiritually.”
McSorley feels joy working at a hospital where she can care for people and gets to see their problems resolved enough to go home.
Patients are prepared to make the transition to home health, a rehab or skilled nursing facility. Referrals are accepted from all the different hospitals in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area as well as other parts of the state.
The knowledge-based nursing staff at Select Specialty Hospital is a blend of strength and humor.
“It’s a fun group,” she said. “We have very stressful jobs. Things can go side-ways but the camaraderie here is amazing. I love everybody that I work with. I look forward to coming to work every day. My schedule is pretty unique. I work six 12’s in a row and then take eight days off. I love the flexibility.”
Needs of family members are also cared for as if they are family members. She loves seeing adult children caring for their parents at the hospital. Mortality becomes more apparent for McSorley as she ages. So, watching sons and daughters care for their parents with the same compassion that she would offer her own parents is endearing and personally rewarding for her, she said.
She is grateful to be able to make their experiences less stressful and more comforting by having someone they can talk to.
Nurses should be able to manage their time well but be able to give of themselves with compassion, empathy, and be detail oriented, she said. McSorley in not afraid of being vulnerable.
“I help patients — I cry with patients — I cry with their families,” she said. “We hold hands, we pray.”
McSorley is frank when answering questions from family members. She tells them that if she does not have an immediate answer, she will find out for them.
“I definitely try to build a rapport with everyone who comes in the patient’s room, not just with the patient, but their family and their friends, and just let them know I’m someone they can come to no matter what,” she said.
She helps set people at ease by telling her story about “how wonderful a place” Select Specialty Hospital is.
For more information about Select Specialty Hospital visit: https://www.selectspecialtyhospitals.com
