WEBVTT

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- Name.

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Last name's Detwiler, D-E-T-W-I-L-E-R.

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First name Tyler, T-Y-L-E-R,

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and I'm currently one of
the Medical-Surgical Nurses

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with the Med Det and then I'm
a civilian side nurse as well.

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Actually with Medical,

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because of my second
deployment as Infantry,

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I had done some EMT classes

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and used my medical knowledge a lot more

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than I ever thought I would
on my second deployment.

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And it was actually at
that time that I decided,

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like, this medical stuff
I've actually really enjoy.

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I enjoy being able to help
people in their time of need,

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sometimes when they can't help themselves.

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And so, after my second
deployment, I actually came back,

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and applied for nursing
school and went that route.

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And I spent almost eight years
still on the enlisted side

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but still doing nursing.

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And then finally decided to make the jump

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from the enlisted side
to the officer's side,

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and go from Combat Arms to the
support in the medical role.

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I don't think there is
really anyone around

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that's experienced
something quite like this,

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on such a large scale.

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Certainly in short, smaller areas.

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You could think back to
disasters of Katrina,

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you know, even towns that
experience, like, tornadoes

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and stuff like that.

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But on such a large scale like this,

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not only nationally but globally,

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I can't think of anything
that would even compare.

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In my background is ER nursing.

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I did ER for about six years

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and then the last two and a half years,

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I've done trauma, ICU.

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So, the emergency and trauma
role is where all my experience

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has been at on the civilian side.

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My role in this, really, is
gonna be a second set of eyes.

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Having the background,
not only with medical,

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but then also the
background with tactical,

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that kinda makes a unique experience.

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Being able to look at the whole picture.

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Facilities, structures, utilities,

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and even like, you know,
looking at the people piece

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as well.

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I mean, this isn't one piece
that we're looking at here,

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there's lots of different pieces

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and sometimes getting
those multiple viewpoints

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can bring different pieces to the table

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that we can get a broader view of

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what we're trying to capture.

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You've been hearing it
a lot in the news media,

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about healthcare professionals
on the frontline.

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And certainly, I mean, everybody is.

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Not just doctors and nurses

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but you have respiratory therapists.

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You have, you know, imaging technicians.

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But it's, from my experience,

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it's always been
especially the nurse that,

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24/7 you're around those patients.

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The docs that I've always worked with

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have always relied heavily on nurses

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and saying that, "Really,
you are our eyes and ears.".

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Because while a nurse
maybe is taking care of,

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you know, one critical ICU patient,

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or, you know, five or six
Medical-Surgical patients,

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that doc is taking care of
dozens and dozens of patients

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and they don't have that ability

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and even sometimes the
time, that us nurses do.

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So, we are able to be, really,

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the advocate for those patients.

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And in this type of situation,

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we're the ones that are constantly
there, constantly around.

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Sometimes we can see things
that maybe others aren't.

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So when you're talking
about viruses and pandemics,

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you know, right now there's
a big piece of reusing PPE.

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And, unfortunately, we've
gotten to that point

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because of, you know, supply and demand.

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But being able to look
at it a different way

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of, like, how can we reuse
the PPE but in a safe way

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or the safest way, if there is one.

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And again, with these patients
in a unique population,

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something that we've
never experienced before,

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I think that nursing

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job, being around those
patients constantly,

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you know, might be able
to capture some pieces

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of patient care that the docs, again,

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not always being around,
you know, maybe don't see,

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that they rely on us for.

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Care for every patient like
it's your family member.

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And sometimes it's really hard to,

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not necessarily take things as seriously,

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but for things to be as real

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or to understand the brevity
or the severity of a situation

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until it is a loved one.

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So, I had a loved one that,
you know, got very sick

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that I spend a lot of
time in the hospital with

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before I became a nurse.

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And whenever I go in to
take care of a patient,

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I always remember that
that's someone's loved one.

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That's someone's mother, someone's father,

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you know, brother, sister, husband, wife.

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So when you hear these
guidelines and you're, like,

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"Well, we're not seeing that,
it doesn't apply to me."

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But look at, you know, that
person to your left or right

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or think of that person that you do love,

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and just ask yourself like,
"Well, what if it was them?".

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And if it was them, if you
would do things differently,

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then I think you need
to take a second look

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at maybe what you're doing.

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And in this capacity it
really is like an honor.

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I've done two state deployments before

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when I was in the Illinois Guard,

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for some, like, winter storm warnings

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and it's always hard to
sometimes stop and realize

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when you're in a historic moment.

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And I think my leaders
have done a good job

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of making us realize that
this really is historic stuff

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that you're gonna look back on someday

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you know, maybe months and years from now,

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and realize really what happened.

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And so try to, you know, take
it in, slow down a little bit

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and realize that you
are doing great things

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and it's an honor to be a part of it.