NURSE PROFILE
INTENSIVE CARE UNIT NURSING:
TREATING COVID-19 PATIENTS When Katherine Dominguez, RN, wakes each morning, she starts her day with a prayer asking for strength for her work in Adventist HealthCare White Oak Medical Center’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
IT’S
been more than two years since hospitals began treating patients with COVID-19. When Katherine graduated with her nursing degree, she never imagined her career would include caring for patients during a global pandemic, or how important her skills would become for her family.
AN UNEXPECTED TURN During nursing school, Katherine had rotations at Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center in several departments, including Labor & Delivery, Medical-Surgical and Psychiatry. In February 2020, she joined the Emergency department at White Oak Medical Center as part of Adventist
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SPRING 2022
HealthCare’s nurse residency program. Right afterward, community transmission of COVID-19 began to increase in Maryland. “When the pandemic began, we didn’t know how to deal with COVID,” Katherine said. “Even the experienced nurses I worked with didn’t, so we all learned together.” As a team, they learned how to treat COVID-19 patients, protect themselves with personal protective equipment and continue to provide exceptional care. Working in the Emergency department during multiple COVID-19 surges allowed Katherine to learn about critical care more quickly than she would have in a world without a
