MAY 2021 | 3
CELEBRATE NURSES
DALE LOVES
INTENSITY OF ICU CONTRIBUTOR: Maria Kirkpatrick
N
ot all nurses graduate from high school knowing they will go into the profession. Amy Dale took the long way to get there and tried a few careers in between, but now she is one of the longestlasting nurses in the intensive care unit at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis. Dale has been a nurse since 1993 and worked in Samarian’s ICU since 1996. “I’m probably one of the longest hired in ICU (besides) maybe one or two other nurses,” she said. “I always liked working with people,” she said. “I had an experience where the nurse was really important to me and I was really scared. She was with me and helped me through a procedure. That sparked my interest to be a nurse: that I could help people in moments where they are scared and I could be there for them. That’s what drew me.” Dale was 21 years old and had just graduated from Lewis & Clark College with a degree in psychology when she had that experience. She briefly went back to school, trying to find her way, and thought about becoming a teacher. She took courses at Oregon State University for teaching and decided maybe that really wasn’t for her. Then she went to nursing school for a couple terms and decided she just wasn’t at
PHOTO CREDIT: Kelly Lyons
in the moment they need someone, she said supportive of each other and encouraging to it can get overwhelming. those new in the field. Dale is able to remain composed and calm “Sometimes you just have to take a deep breath,” she said. “It can be overwhelming and on the job, and decompresses at home, in that point in her life. you get compassion fatigue. You have to be able her garden or cooking. Her husband is a “In your young 20s, you really don’t know to turn it off and you have to care for yourself.” physician, and they are able to rely on one what you want to do in life,” she said. ICU nurses can easily burn out. Dale has another and talk out their day. She has two She moved to Wyoming for a few years and been a mentor, and encourages those who nearly adult children who are great people waitressed, which she really enjoyed. have an interest to pursue the career if it is to spend time with, she said, and she loves In her 30s, she returned to Corvallis, their passion. She said nurses today are very to spend time outdoors. her hometown, and went to Linn-Benton Community College to become a registered nurse. Her first job required her to relocate to Las Vegas but she eventually returned to Oregon. By then, she was 38 and had a 1-year-old child. She decided it was time to settle down and to obtain her bachelor’s degree of science in nursing, a four-year We are especially proud of our program for students who nursing alumni. seek to become a registered You can follow in their nurse. She enrolled at footsteps. Oregon Health & Science For more information, visit: University. go.chemeketa.edu/nursing It was a great decision and she is very flattered to be recognized with this award for simply doing what she loves. In critical care, Dale gets “dialed in” to her job. She has close relationships with physicians and really gets to immerse herself in the illnesses patients have. “(ICU) is a much more detailed look at what’s going on with the patient than when you have more patients who aren’t quite as sick,” she said. “These are usually the sickest patients and it’s a crisis moment for the patients and the family. I try to be there with the patient and for the family and connect.” While she likes the intensity of her job and loves working with people, and being there
“Sometimes you just have to take a deep breath.”
Chemeketa Salutes Nurses: The Heart of Health Care
