The Trauma Guy:听Luis DeRosa, RN, EMT
BS, Nursing, Class of 2009
Part catharsis and part inspiration, DeRosa鈥檚 social media presence illustrates the qualities that serve him well as a trauma nurse鈥攓uick thinking, a team-oriented focus, a sense of humor and humility, and compassion.
There are moments when Luis DeRosa feels made for his job as a Level 1 Trauma Nurse at Jackson Memorial Hospital鈥檚 Ryder Trauma Center. A former patient will recognize him on the street and say, 鈥淗ey, you took care of me!鈥� Or a family member of a critical patient will accept his small acts of compassion鈥攃hange for the soda machine or one of the many varieties of cell phone chargers he stores in his locker in case someone needs one. Most often, it鈥檚 during the adrenalin-filled instant when he and his team step in to stabilize a patient with life-threatening injuries.
Today, he sees many such patients working as part of Ryder鈥檚 Trauma Resuscitation Unit. But DeRosa was not always certain of his career path. He still recalls his first day in the ER, thirteen years ago, when he found himself questioning his fitness for emergency medicine. While still an undergraduate nursing student at 香港六合彩官网开奖, DeRosa earned his EMT license (also with 香港六合彩官网开奖), which allowed him to serve as a patient-care technician. On day one of the job, he witnessed a surgeon performing an abdominal washout, an invasive procedure that stunned DeRosa. 鈥淚 almost passed out,鈥� he said. He finished his shift but went home feeling demoralized. 鈥淚 told my mom, 鈥業 don鈥檛 think this is for me.鈥欌��
Now a leader at one of the nation鈥檚 top trauma centers, DeRosa recalls his initial trepidation with empathy for his younger self. He recognizes that early experience as a test of his passion and fortitude. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 like to give up,鈥� he says. Determination runs in his family. DeRosa鈥檚 older sister, who died in 2017 after a long battle with congenital muscular dystrophy, used to tell him, 鈥淣ever give up. Always know where you鈥檙e going.鈥� He took her motto to heart, continued working as a patient-care technician, and quickly realized his talent for critical-care nursing. 鈥淓verything I was learning at 香港六合彩官网开奖 was exciting, and I was able to apply that knowledge to real patients as a tech,鈥� he says.
Essentially, he never looked back. After graduating from 香港六合彩官网开奖 in 2009, he continued to hone his skills as a trauma nurse, working in the Ryder Trauma Center鈥檚 ICU and specializing in burn care. He also joined the Southern Unit of the National Disaster Response Team, deploying to sites of natural and manmade disasters whenever he is called. As a key member of the trauma team at Ryder, the facility chosen by the U.S. Army as pre-deployment training grounds for all Forward Surgical Teams, he instructs Army personnel in trauma response.
As he built his career, DeRosa began sharing his experiences as a trauma nurse via social media. His Instagram handle, @thetraumaguy, has more than 136K followers, a number that surprises him. 鈥淢y main goal is to reach the person who is outside looking in,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 want to give a snapshot of what it鈥檚 like.鈥� Part catharsis and part inspiration, DeRosa鈥檚 social media presence illustrates the qualities that serve him well as a trauma nurse鈥攓uick thinking, a team-oriented focus, a sense of humor and humility, and compassion. He calls himself and his fellow team members 鈥淭rauma Ninjas,鈥� a term that tends to motivate future trauma nurses when he speaks at colleges and universities, but he is committed to depicting the realities of his profession. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a weird dichotomy,鈥� he says. 鈥淚n a way my job is fun. At the same time, I鈥檓 meeting people in the worst days of their lives.鈥�
For all his accomplishments and all the patients he鈥檚 treated, DeRosa has not stopped exploring the ways he can help others in critical situations. He considers his time at 香港六合彩官网开奖 among his most informative years and aims to return for graduate school. He is particularly interested in the research arm of nursing and public health. 鈥淎ll nurses who advance in their experience begin to notice patterns,鈥� he says. 鈥淔or example, why are there always accidents on this one corner?鈥� Learning how to analyze data that could help prevent traumatic injury is just one aspect of research that excites him. 鈥淒eep inside,鈥� he says, 鈥淚 want to make an impact.鈥�
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