StoryCorps and Intermountain Healthcare partner to share conversations of hope and healing.
Sean Talley reflects with fellow caregiver Brandy Lee on the intensity and rewards of serving as Shock-Trauma ICU manager at Intermountain medical Center in Murray, Utah. "Because I grew up in a rough part of Las Vegas, I can spot dangerous situations, and...I'm one of those guys that is only really happy when I feel like I'm helping someone."
Sean Talley: My oldest daughter, she was two months old, and got RSV really bad. We were in the ICU for a bit. I remember just being very impressed with that ICU nurse. He came in; he was fit. He was nice. He was very knowledgeable. I remember thinking, "Man, to do it all over again; if I could do something different?" I said, "I think I'd like to do something like that."
I got my master's degree. After about two years working in Shock-Trauma an opportunity came up for me to be a nursing supervisor. Then after a year of that, the opportunity came for me to be the manager of Shock-Trauma, so that's what I'm doing now. I'm the nurse manager of Shock-Trauma. So I've progressed quickly, but I feel very blessed and very grateful.
Brandy Lee: What were some experiences in your background that perhaps led to your personality being better for Shock-Trauma ICU, versus maybe any of the other floors in the hospital that you work at?
Sean: Shock-Trauma, we get everything from gunshot wounds, car wrecks, super, very sick patients. So it's a very intense, high stress, dangerous environment sometimes, because you're dealing with very diverse personalities and situations. There's gang issues. There's abusive situations.
My personality, because I grew up out there in a rough part of Las Vegas, and kind of a misspent youth .... I'm covered in tattoos, and I've made plenty of poor choices, but I can spot dangerous situations. I've seen that, personally. I grew up with that. It's, I think, better prepared me to foresee problems that would occur in Shock-Trauma.
Brandy: A big thing for Intermountain is not only keeping our patients safe, but keeping our caregivers safe. So what are some things that you feel have prepared you in your role as a manager?
Sean: There was a particularly busy day in Shock-Trauma not too long ago. There were a couple of car wrecks and gunshot wounds, and we had three gentlemen, and they looked upset. They were there to solve a problem. I saw one of them that had a handgun stuffed in the front of his belt there. Which for someone that comes from a nice religious area in Utah might not fully know what to do with that. But to me, that was like going to the 7-Eleven as a kid; that's normal.
So I knew what that could turn into, not only for my patients and the patient population that was there, but for my nurses, my caregivers. So I met them three quarters of the way down that ramp. I told them, "The cops are already on their way. You guys better take off. There isn't any room for that right now. You better get." I don't know if it was the gruff look I have, or just kinda how I said it, but I think they knew I wasn't joking, and they took off. That's what I bring to the table.
The misspent youth was a blessing in this case for me. A couple of my caregivers that were down on that end saw what was going on, and they were pretty shaken up about it. One of them thanked me, and was just joking around saying that they're glad that they have a junkyard bulldog out there for their manager that's looking out for them. I think they know that I'm willing to go to those lengths for them, and speak up for the, be their representative, and for the patients too.
Brandy: What is it that you love most about what you get to do on a daily basis?
Sean: I'm one of those guys that is only really happy when I feel like I'm helping someone. I feel like there's a use for me here doing that. That's what makes me tick in the morning. The reason why I get up, rather than sleep in. Or come up with some reason why I don't need to be at the office just yet. It's because I want to see them. I want to help them, and I want to find what's going on.
They all have aspirations and hopes and dreams they're trying to achieve. Sometimes they might just need someone to help them get there, kinda like me. Even just this morning, one of my old bosses, she shows up, to check on me. See how I'm doing. Encourage me, give me advice. I want to do that for my people. It's the good examples that I've gotten here from my mentors and people I look up to. I want to share that with those that work for me. That's what keeps me going.
It's actually quite rewarding, and that's why I went this way. I got tired of worrying about money and contracts and just jobs. I wanted to make a difference in people's lives, and this so far has been my way to do that.
I got my master's degree. After about two years working in Shock-Trauma an opportunity came up for me to be a nursing supervisor. Then after a year of that, the opportunity came for me to be the manager of Shock-Trauma, so that's what I'm doing now. I'm the nurse manager of Shock-Trauma. So I've progressed quickly, but I feel very blessed and very grateful.
Brandy Lee: What were some experiences in your background that perhaps led to your personality being better for Shock-Trauma ICU, versus maybe any of the other floors in the hospital that you work at?
Sean: Shock-Trauma, we get everything from gunshot wounds, car wrecks, super, very sick patients. So it's a very intense, high stress, dangerous environment sometimes, because you're dealing with very diverse personalities and situations. There's gang issues. There's abusive situations.
My personality, because I grew up out there in a rough part of Las Vegas, and kind of a misspent youth .... I'm covered in tattoos, and I've made plenty of poor choices, but I can spot dangerous situations. I've seen that, personally. I grew up with that. It's, I think, better prepared me to foresee problems that would occur in Shock-Trauma.
Brandy: A big thing for Intermountain is not only keeping our patients safe, but keeping our caregivers safe. So what are some things that you feel have prepared you in your role as a manager?
Sean: There was a particularly busy day in Shock-Trauma not too long ago. There were a couple of car wrecks and gunshot wounds, and we had three gentlemen, and they looked upset. They were there to solve a problem. I saw one of them that had a handgun stuffed in the front of his belt there. Which for someone that comes from a nice religious area in Utah might not fully know what to do with that. But to me, that was like going to the 7-Eleven as a kid; that's normal.
So I knew what that could turn into, not only for my patients and the patient population that was there, but for my nurses, my caregivers. So I met them three quarters of the way down that ramp. I told them, "The cops are already on their way. You guys better take off. There isn't any room for that right now. You better get." I don't know if it was the gruff look I have, or just kinda how I said it, but I think they knew I wasn't joking, and they took off. That's what I bring to the table.
The misspent youth was a blessing in this case for me. A couple of my caregivers that were down on that end saw what was going on, and they were pretty shaken up about it. One of them thanked me, and was just joking around saying that they're glad that they have a junkyard bulldog out there for their manager that's looking out for them. I think they know that I'm willing to go to those lengths for them, and speak up for the, be their representative, and for the patients too.
Brandy: What is it that you love most about what you get to do on a daily basis?
Sean: I'm one of those guys that is only really happy when I feel like I'm helping someone. I feel like there's a use for me here doing that. That's what makes me tick in the morning. The reason why I get up, rather than sleep in. Or come up with some reason why I don't need to be at the office just yet. It's because I want to see them. I want to help them, and I want to find what's going on.
They all have aspirations and hopes and dreams they're trying to achieve. Sometimes they might just need someone to help them get there, kinda like me. Even just this morning, one of my old bosses, she shows up, to check on me. See how I'm doing. Encourage me, give me advice. I want to do that for my people. It's the good examples that I've gotten here from my mentors and people I look up to. I want to share that with those that work for me. That's what keeps me going.
It's actually quite rewarding, and that's why I went this way. I got tired of worrying about money and contracts and just jobs. I wanted to make a difference in people's lives, and this so far has been my way to do that.