Laura Cercado: Critical Care Paramedic
April 18, 2017
18 April, 2017
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Mississauga
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By: Par: Rachel Scott
Meet Laura Cercado, a Paediatric Critical Care Paramedic based out of Ornge's Mississauga Critical Care Land Ambulance Base.
We spoke to Laura about her role at Ornge, the education and training she completed to support her career and discussed what happens on a typical day for a Paediatric Critical Care Paramedic.
Rachel Scott: When did you start working at Ornge?
Laura Cercado: I was with the initial Pediatric pilot program from 2007-2008, when the Nurse was an ad hoc member to an air or land crew. I returned back to Ornge in 2010 when the Pediatric program returned to Toronto; this time around the crew configuration was a Nurse/Medic team.
What is your current role with Ornge?
As a Pediatric Critical Care Transport Nurse, my role (along with my partner) is to work alongside hospital staff to provide care to Pediatric patients under the age of 18 years. Our team is able to provide critical care interventions in hospital units that would otherwise be unable to manage these patients. After the patient is stabilized (as much as possible) in hospital, or job is to then transport them to a tertiary care centre for a higher level of care.
When you were attending University, what did you study?
I studied Nursing at the University of Ottawa. I received my Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2004 and I obtained my A-EMCA (f) in 2010.
What made you want to work with Ornge?
Prior to coming to Ornge full time, I worked in a Pediatric ICU and had plenty of interaction with Ornge teams that had transported pediatric patients from all over the province. I admired their work ethic and their abilities to manage critical care patients. And since I have always had an interest in patient transport, it only made sense to apply to work for Ornge on a dedicated pediatric team.
What do you do on a typical day?
Our mornings involve a quick base meeting where we discuss items like stock, equipment, traffic concerns, or vehicle issues. If there was an interesting call the day before, we like to discuss amongst team members that are at base. We also do vehicle and equipment checks, as well as narcotic and drug counts. We then wait for the OCC to contact us about any pediatric transport calls. We never know when the calls will come in, or where the calls are coming from or going to.
What do you do in your spare time?
I have a newborn and a 2yr old that take up most of my time. I still pick up shifts in the pediatric ICU as well as do legal consulting work on the side. I work out at home during the week, and try to make it out to hot yoga once in a while. I play on a volleyball team once a week, and try to get out snowboarding during the winter. I enjoy travelling, although now it's much different travelling with kids.
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