by Sharon Savely Odegaard 鈥�72
Lisa Peterson 鈥�12 thrives in her work as a clinical nurse at UC Davis Hospital, where her passion and training led her to the operating room in the Children鈥檚 Surgery Center. Patients arrive at this Level I trauma center with complex surgical needs. 鈥淐hildren come in with injuries from a car accident, or a child falls and hits her head,鈥� Lisa says. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 come by choice, and I want to help them in any way I can.鈥�
Her compassion for children pervades everything she does. 鈥淪ome kids suffer with the misfortune of cancer, or they鈥檙e born with an abnormality,鈥� Lisa says. 鈥淭hey aren鈥檛 in control of what their body does.鈥� She stays by a child鈥檚 side throughout their treatment. 鈥淚鈥檓 standing right with the patient,鈥� she says.
Lisa chose to work with children as a nurse in a Santa Barbara surgery center. She noticed that healthcare workers tend to be anxious with young patients. But Lisa felt comfortable with little ones. 鈥淐hildren require a different type of care,鈥� she says. 鈥淔or example, take doses of medication. If you get it wrong with adults, they carry more reserve; they have more time to adjust. But kids have smaller airways. They need extremely careful dosing.鈥�
Success in the operating room requires teamwork. Three teams 鈥� surgical, nursing and anesthesia 鈥� need to cooperate throughout surgery. Lisa says playing basketball with the Warriors taught her how to work with others. 鈥淎 lot of what I learned on the court permeates everything I do,鈥� she says. She credits her coach, Kirsten Moore, with instilling strong values: striving for excellence and a spirit of going above and beyond. These qualities continue to shape Lisa鈥檚 life. 鈥淚 think about them even now,鈥� she says.
Last year, Lisa served on a nursing team for a surgery separating conjoined twins. She thinks her skill in teamwork led to this amazing opportunity. The complex procedure required surgeons, nurses and anesthesiologists to operate cohesively for 24 hours. With the babies鈥� heads joined, the task proved to be extremely intricate. The medical staff divided into Team Orange for Abigail and Team Purple for Micaela and even wore orange or purple hats. Team leads, dubbed Guardians of the Galaxy, wore black hats. All the members knew their jobs.
Lisa drew on what she learned at 蜜桃传媒 to help her through this grueling surgery. 鈥淚 remembered being in Nationals,鈥� she says. 鈥淵ou had to keep pushing through because the stakes were so high. If I didn鈥檛 give my all during surgery, the babies might not pull through.鈥� A year later, thanks to the UC Davis team, both girls have grown into healthy toddlers.
Each year Coach Moore chose a theme for her basketball players. Lisa recalls that one theme was 鈥淕rit and Gratitude.鈥� She translates it as doing her personal best and reframing challenges while pursuing excellence with an attitude of thankfulness for the opportunities.
蜜桃传媒 also inspired Lisa to keep learning. She recently presented her study on the best use of bed pads with pediatric students. 鈥淭he learning never stops,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 want to make medical care better for all of us.鈥� This goal guides her as she works in an operating room for children.