Erlanger Hospital Trauma ICU
Intervening in Crisis
Omar Grimaldo describes working in the region’s only Level 1 Trauma Intensive Care Unit, where patients are admitted for specialized care, as a constant balancing act. “Our job as nurses is to simultaneously make advances in our patients’ conditions while preventing health decompensation,” he shares. “I am constantly challenged. Yet over time, with persistent initiative, one develops a keen intuition that aids in the analysis of patient progression.” Grimaldo not only appreciates the cerebral challenge of working in a trauma ICU, but also the way it challenges him daily in his personal life. “Nursing demands that I take care of my health and mental state to be fully prepared to care for others,” he says. “I love that it pushes me toward continuous self-improvement.”
This profession provides endless opportunities to make a real and positive impact in the community.”
My Credentials
Bachelor’s Degree:
Dalton State College – Dalton, GA
Certifications:
Adult Critical Care Registered Nurse
Trauma Nursing
Core Course
Advanced Trauma Care for Nurses
Advanced Cardiovascular
Life Support
Pediatric Advanced Life Support
Basic Life Support
Advanced Emergency
Medical
Technician
Recognitions:
The Daisy Award for Extraordinary Nurses
My Specialties
Trauma Care
1. What do you love most about your profession?
I enjoy the critical thinking aspect of nursing. It demands thorough knowledge of patient history, diagnosis, and clinical presentation. I love that I always have to be prepared to intervene and correct life-threatening complications.
2. What is one of your happiest professional moments?
The most notable ones for me are the moments when I get to see a patient go home after a prolonged stay in the ICU. It is a rewarding feeling to know the work we did had a direct impact on someone’s life.
3. What is your best advice for patients?
My best advice for patients is that their health is a collaborative effort – in other words, help me help you. Nurses have the ability to provide the best care possible; however, the healing process also takes time, a positive mentality, and a willingness to get better.
4. What would you consider to be your main strengths?
I have always believed that success was a strict combination of initiative, morality, and discipline.
5. What influenced you to pursue your career?
I always strived to excel in a career where I was constantly challenged but also maintained my core values. Nursing was the perfect fit.
- 423.778.7000
- 975 East 3rd Street, Chattanooga, TN 37403
- erlanger.org/
