14 | MAY 2021 CELEBRATE NURSES
Cross-training made Vogler versatile CONTRIBUTOR: Maria Kirkpatrick
F
or nurse Amber Vogler, the emergency room is a second home. “It’s amazing,” Vogler said. “It’s busy, it’s fun, exciting, hard; a little bit of everything, it feels like sometimes.” She has been a nurse at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis for 18 years, with the last two years spent in the ER. There have been 16 years in the oncology department and some time spent in all other departments sprinkled in for good measure. Vogler said she has always “just known” she wanted to be a nurse. She went to nursing school right after graduating from Philomath High School. “It’s what I was meant to do,” Vogler said. “I’ve always been that person who wants to help people and change the world. I’ve always felt like there is a way I could make a difference on a smaller scale.” Her patience and bedside manner are often noted, and her compassion and caring much appreciated. The many thanks from her patients just reinforce that she is doing the right thing. “It has been fulfilling and satisfying,” she said. There is no such thing as a typical day in the ER. Vogler said it is unpredictable and nurses must remain flexible and ready to take on anything. “There is no set routine,” she said. “You never know what is going to come through the door.” Vogler is no routine nurse and she likes taking on something new. She challenged herself to cross-train in all the different departments of the hospital, and can be counted on step in to assist at any time. “All those jobs and departments are difficult,” she said. “But it’s just something I’ve taken on and pushed myself to do over the years.”
Patient care is Vogler’s favorite part of the job. “I like getting to know them and take care of them and help them at a time when they aren’t feeling good,” she said. “It’s something I’ve always had (within me). People like my grandmother and my mom and people in my life were that way with me. They probably instilled a lot of that in me.” While she finds nursing very rewarding, Vogler loves to get outdoors and explore. She spends her free time camping, backpacking, hiking, paddleboarding and fishing. “I like adventure,” she said. She plans to sell her house and belongings next year and take a year to travel the country in a trailer with her three terriers. While she works as a travel nurse temporarily filling hospital needs on contract, she hopes to see a baseball game at as many Major League Baseball parks as she can. Hopefully, that will satisfy her wanderlust for a bit. She plans to then return home and resume work at the hospital. “I can’t think of anything else I want to do,” she said. Her children and nursing at the two best things in Vogler’s life. She has a son and daughter and is extremely proud of both. Her daughter, a junior at Philomath High, wants to follow in her mother’s footsteps, and already has started taking college nursing courses.
PHOTO CREDIT: Kelly Lyons
