Clinton wrote this …
Nurses new to a burn unit know fairly quickly whether or not it’s the kind of environment where they want to work. Many don’t last a year or so. Among those who stay, it’s not uncommon for them to spend a career there. The work is physically demanding, patients are in critical care with multiple potential complications, and the effects to patients and families can be dramatic, and heart wrenching.
Grace Schmits manages the NC Jaycee Burn Center corps of nurses. In our YouTube, Medical News Update interview today she spoke about the survivors from the Slim Jim, ConAgra explosion, and about what her nurses face daily.
Dr. Bruce Cairns, director of the center, talks more about inhalation injuries. It has been reported that a strong scent of ammonia was present in the plant after the explosion. The effects of breathing that aerosolized chemical, and others in the air, are now starting to manifest, creating challenges for the medical team beyond wound care.
