Rick Lucas is a nurse at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, where he works as a Stat Nurse. He has been with the medical center for 5 years, beginning his first year at OSU as a travel nurse. Rick is also a Ohio State University Nurses Organization (a local unit of ONA) board member, representing the ER/CDU. Rick states that he is “truly thankful to have a voice in advocating for our members and for safe, quality patient care.”
Rick graduated from nursing school in 2004 from Ohio University in Zanesville with his BSN. He holds specialty nursing certifications in critical care, oncology nursing and vascular disease.
When ask about Rick’s favorite part of his job, he said,
“As a Stat Nurse I respond to the Code Blues, Level 1 Traumas, Stroke Alerts, and Rapid Response calls. As much as I enjoy the fast paced environment and “high adrenaline” situations, I have to say my favorite part of my job is the Modified Early Warning System (MEWs) surveillance and proactive rounding. This is a set of evidence-based criteria that can predict when a patient is declining or at risk of declining, mostly due to sepsis. I feel this gives me the opportunity to truly make a difference in the patient’s outcome. We are able to use the computerized documentation to quickly screen and prioritize every patient in the health system so that we can identify the “at risk” patients and pull the team together quickly to get the patient what they need. According to the National Institute of Health, severe sepsis strikes more than 1 million Americans and it has been estimated that 28-50% of these people die.”