Name: Samantha Rimler, RN

Nickname: Samma-lamma-ding-dong (thanks AK)

Alma Mater: La Salle University

What’s your current gig: RN in the PACU at a large hospital in Philadelphia

What’s something that you can’t work a shift without? Coffee, Coffee, Coffee, Coffee, Coffee

What is the Weirdest / Wildest / Most Interesting / Out there RN job you’ve ever worked? Easily the wildest job I’ve ever had was in a neuro trauma step down ICU. There is nothing more unpredictable than a neuro trauma patient and my best (or worst, depending on your outlook) and wildest nursing stories are from my time on that unit. 

Share your best Moment / Story / Anecdote as an RN:

I would love to say my best memories are based on patient care, like someone making a miraculous recovery or a family member who I connected with. These things happen all the time – and are special in their own rite – but my best moments as a nurse are all based on my coworkers. Without them, none of those special moments would happen. Nurses truly cannot function as individuals and are only successful when working together as a team. My coworkers have become family and are the people I turn to in any crisis. I continue to be a nurse to be able to work alongside them, because nurses really are a special kind of person and the bonds you make as a nurse are unbreakable.

Quote/Lyric/Line that sums up Nursing For You: “Ya’ll gonna make me lose my mind, up in here, up in here”

What’s a day in the life like?
Honestly, it’s different every day. One thing I tell people is that this job is never boring – you could walk into a nice day with pleasant patients or a crazy day where you can’t even sit down or take a sip of water. There is no predictability in nursing except for constant change. Most of the day, we are assessing and treating patients for a laundry list of medical issues while also juggling families, therapists, management, colleagues, documentation, and education. It can be thankless but it can also be super rewarding when you see someone who was so sick make a turn for the better.

What has been the biggest change in the year of the pandemic?Obviously the pandemic has changed so much for everyone, but health care is really feeling the strain of the last 18 months. Nurses gave their all in the first wave of the pandemic and with every wave since then, we have lost more and more the energy and capacity to continue to care for our patients day after day. Nurses are burnt out, mentally and physically, and are hoping for a light at the end of the tunnel soon.When you’re not working, where can we find you?Usually outside! Being stuck inside 12 hours a day makes you crave sunlight. I’ll find any excuse to get outside.

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