I Am a Critical Care Nurse

Capt Robert Trobaugh

Crit Care Nurse 2011;31:104
© 2011 American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
Published online http://www.cconline.org

Personal use only. For copyright permission information:

http://ccn.aacnjournals.org/cgi/external_ref?link_type=PERMISSIONDIRECT

Subscription Information
http://ccn.aacnjournals.org/subscriptions/

Information for authors

http://ccn.aacnjournals.org/misc/ifora.xhtml

Submit a manuscript
http://www.editorialmanager.com/ccn

Email alerts
http://ccn.aacnjournals.org/subscriptions/etoc.xhtml

Critical Care Nurse is the official peer-reviewed clinical journal of the American
Association of Critical-Care Nurses, published bi-monthly by The InnoVision Group
101 Columbia, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656. Telephone: (800) 899-1712, (949) 362-2050,
ext. 532. Fax: (949) 362-2049. Copyright © 2011 by AACN. All rights reserved.

Downloaded from ccn.aacnjournals.org by guest on February 28, 2013

 I Am a Critical Care Nurse
Capt Robert Trobaugh, USAF, NC, CCRN, is a staff nurse in the intensive care unit
at Mike O’Callahan Federal Hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Why did you become a nurse?
I joined the Air Force after I graduated from high
school. My first job was as a pharmacy technician.
After a few years, I worked my way to manager of a
medical center inpatient pharmacy. In this role I worked
closely with the nurses throughout the hospital. One
day I watched some nurses resuscitating a patient and
I realized nursing was the career I wanted. I left the
military and started nursing school, and I decided
pediatric critical care was my calling.
What has your journey as a nurse been like?
My wife remained in the military and I worked in
different pediatric hospitals, following her from base
to base. When my wife retired from the military, I
rejoined the Air Force. I usually work in a joint Air
Force and Department of Veterans Affairs hospital.
Most of my patients are geriatric and have served in
the military. I work in a general intensive care unit
(ICU) similar to a community hospital. However, I
love pediatric nursing, and I plan to return to pediatric
critical care after I retire from the Air Force.
Have you experienced anything extraordinary in
your nursing career?
When I’m on active duty for the Air Force, I get to
do a job only a few nurses in the world have the privi-
lege of doing: I care for critically wounded soldiers
while they are being transported from the battlefield
to the hospital. As a nurse on a critical care air trans-
port team, I work in an intensive care atmosphere on
a cargo plane. With the help of an aero medical evacu-
ation team and a flight crew, we transform the plane
into a flying ICU. I like to think of my job as a 12-hour
Caring for trip to radiology. We transport our patients from a
injured military hospital ICU in Afghanistan for 8 hours to an
soldiers American military hospital in Germany.
and bringing
What are the challenges you encounter and how do
them home you overcome them?
is ... the The hardest part of my job is caring for soldiers
best part of with life-changing injuries. Most patients are intubated
my job. but some are able to speak. Two marines who I cared
“I Am a Critical Care Nurse” features the extraordinary in a critical care nurse’s ordinary experiences. To be featured in
this department, contact Critical Care Nurse via e-mail at ccn@aacn.org.
104 CriticalCareNurse Vol 31, No. 2, APRIL 2011
Downloaded from ccn.aacnjournals.org by guest on February 28, 2013
for on a transport mission showed me such courage.
Both of them lost their legs in an explosion and their
outlook on the future was amazing and inspiring; they
were looking forward to the challenges ahead of them.
What about your job as a nurse makes you happy?
Caring for injured soldiers and bringing them
home is also the best part of my job. When soldiers
thank me for helping them get home, I always say,
“It is an honor to fly you heroes home.” They thank
me for my sacrifice and for helping them and that is
an extremely rewarding feeling.
What has been the most amazing experience you’ve
had as a critical care nurse?
When working in the pediatric ICU, it seemed to
me that every holiday season, a child would be admit-
ted that we knew had very little chance of surviving.
One year, a 12-year-old boy was brought in and went
into cardiac arrest while still on the stretcher. I did
chest compressions for 3 hours while the physician
inserted tubes to place him on extracorporeal mem-
brane oxygenation. Forty-eight hours later, on Christ-
mas Day, that little boy opened his eyes and followed
commands. He walked out of the hospital 3 weeks
later. His ordeal really inspires me.
At the end of a busy/grueling day, how do you find
balance in your life?
I keep a journal of my transport missions and
refer to those missions when I am feeling down about
being separated from my family. When I’m home,
the best way for me to relieve stress is by taking a
nice hike in the mountains. I find it very relaxing to
be away from everybody and just enjoy nature.
How has AACN played a role in your career?
I love the AACN journals and the articles that
arrive via e-mail every month. These articles help me
stay current on advancements in trauma care. I have
also enjoyed attending NTI (National Teaching Insti-
tute), where I have learned about new techniques and
tools for caring for my patients.
www.ccnonline.org