Float nurse finds satisfaction in bedside care
Julie Knight of Rolling Meadows never knows from day to day what unit at Northwest Community Hospital she might be working in when she reports to the Arlington Heights medical center each morning.
As a member of the float pool, the registered nurse might be dispatched to the cardiac surveillance unit one day, the orthopedic floor the next, and in the emergency department as well.
The uncertainty comes with the territory of being a float pool nurse, and Knight thrives on the variety.
"My knowledge base is expanded," Knight says. "There's always something new coming down the road."
She works with up to 10 nurses in the float pool, including newer graduates looking to try out different departments before they find their niche, as well as more experienced nurses like Knight who like to fill the gaps.
Colleagues consider Knight to be one of the top clinical nurses on staff at Northwest Community, but ironically nursing was a second career for her.
Knight first worked as an art director in the advertising department of a major corporation. However, once she married and started a family, she began to think about different careers that would allow her to combine working with raising her young children. Nursing seemed to offer the flexibility and security she sought.
"It sounded like an interesting field," Knight says. "I like to figure out how the body works."
Knight became certified as a patient care technician first, before earning her registered nursing degree at Harper College in Palatine, where the majority of her classmates were nontraditional-age students like her. Her initial degree allowed her to work at Northwest while she pursued her nursing studies.
As a new graduate, Knight worked in the medical respiratory unit at Northwest, where she stayed until moving to the hospital's treatment center in Buffalo Grove, which offered more flexible hours while her children were in school.
For the last four years, Knight has worked in the float pool, where she thinks of herself as helping to carry a team that might be short a nurse.
"I've gained expertise in a lot of areas," she says. "I feel I have a good working knowledge of orthopedics, emergency medicine, cardiac care and respiratory care."
No matter what department Knight helps staff, her role as a nurse still comes back to bedside care she originally sought.
"I like working with people and calming them in scary situations, when they really don't have any control. I like to help them figure out what's going on with their health."
<p class="factboxtextbold12col"><b>Julie Knight</b></p> <p class="factboxtextbold12col"><b>Age:</b> 48</p> <p class="factboxtextbold12col"><b>Hometown: </b>Rolling Meadows</p> <p class="factboxtextbold12col"><b>Specialty:</b> Float nurse, can be assigned to any unit; most often works in cardiac care, orthopedics, emergency room, medical respiratory units </p> <p class="factboxtextbold12col"><b>Best part about the job:</b></p> <p class="factboxtextbold12col">"My knowledge base is expanded; there's always something new coming down the road."</p>