Shaina Thurmon is a registered nurse who works on an inpatient rehabilitation floor at Crittenton Hospital in Rochester, Michigan. She has also worked in labor and delivery, ER, neurology and orthopedics.
Acting on Instincts
The off-duty nurse was on her way home at midnight after working a 12-hour shift in a busy ER. She was traveling on a 45-mile-per-hour stretch of road when she noticed an object about 200 feet ahead of her, where a section of the road was under construction. As she slowed down and pulled over, she saw that it was a motorcycle, tipped on its side in the right lane; the motorcyclist was walking in the middle of the road.
Surveying the scene as she got out of her car, the Spartan nurse speculated what had happened. When the motorcyclist had come into the construction area, his tire must have slipped off into the deep groove between the road and the shoulder, causing the motorcycle to fall over onto the roadway.
Her nursing instinct immediately took over. “Call 9-1-1,” she shouted to a woman driver who had also pulled over to help. As more traffic came upon the scene, she directed another driver to help her get the man — and the motorcycle — out of the road to a safe spot. Disoriented after the crash, the man attempted to get back on his motorcycle and drive off. His leg was bleeding and he seemed anxious and confused. The nurse kept asking him if he’d hit his head. “Don’t call the cops. Don’t call the cops,” was all he responded. Her examination of the man quickly revealed why he did not want the police called to the scene — he was intoxicated.
Keep Calm and Keep Track of Time
The off-duty nurse, the first one to stop at the scene of the accident that night, was Spartan Nurse Shaina Thurmon. Remaining calm, she recalled what she had learned in her MSU nursing courses — almost as if her mind was automatically “replaying” certain elements from her classes that she needed at that moment. “One thing I’ll never forget from nursing school is to pay attention to time. You are better able to help in an emergency situation when you are aware of when and how often certain symptoms — such as disorientation — are occurring,” she says.
The Best Thing about Nursing
“I’m one of those individuals who is very sensitive. When people are hurting, I want them to feel better, regardless of whether they’re in the hospital or out and about in the community,” she says.
She’s also passionate about empowering the next generation of nurses. Thurmon is chair of the Nurse Practice Council at Crittenton Hospital, and serves as a preceptor for new nursing students who practice there. “I am empowering nurses — educating them, and helping them to feel comfortable asking questions, because asking questions makes us better nurses, and that benefits our patients,” she says.
“Life is precious. For me, that’s the best thing about nursing — the relationships I am able to develop with patients. These relationships will change you as a person, make you a better person. I’ve grown a lot since I first became a nurse.”
About that dark night on the highway, Thurmon says: “I am thankful that I was able to keep the man calm until the EMTs arrived, and that I was able to keep him from driving off after the accident and possibly injuring others.
