Catherine Webb, RN
TraumaOne flight nurse lives her dream
When Catherine Webb, 38, graduated high school, she knew she was going to become a registered nurse.
"I graduated high school in June 1988 and started nursing school the next month," said the Shands Jacksonville TraumaOne flight nurse.
Webb, originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland, came to the U.S. in 1993 and her dreams of becoming a flight nurse began to unfold. She worked in Atlanta for two years prior to moving to South Florida. It was there that she set her sights on the Palm Beach County aeromedical trauma program called Trauma Hawk.
In 1999 she took the state paramedic exam then started working full-time as a firefighter paramedic for Davie Fire Rescue Department and part-time in a local emergency room.
Three years later Webb moved to Palatka, Fla., where she met her husband; shortly thereafter she became a member of Shands Jacksonville's trauma team where she started as a floor nurse in TraumaOne.
Coming to Shands Jacksonville
"I heard about Shands Jacksonville having a trauma program with a helicopter and I knew then that was where I was going to build my career," Webb said.
Since joining the TraumaOne flight crew, Webb has obtained a flight paramedic certification and has become a certified emergency nurse. In addition, she received an instructor status for advanced cardiac life support, pre-hospital trauma life support, advanced medical life support and emergency pediatric care.
Webb is also a member of the healthcare protocol committee and helped design a landing zone training course for TraumaOne Aeromedical Services, which has been taught throughout Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia. She holds certifications in pediatric advance life support and neonatal resuscitation.
"The best part about what we do is the significant role that we play in saving lives on a daily basis," said Webb, who has been a Shands Jacksonville flight nurse for five years.
Webb's average day begins with checking equipment, but in a matter of seconds the TraumaOne flight crew - comprised of a pilot, paramedic and a registered nurse - could be called to the scene of an accident in the middle of a busy highway. She works 24 hours on and 48 hours off.
"Some days I'll walk straight in the door, put my bags down and go straight to the helicopter," Webb said. "We transport from Southeast Georgia to Northeast Florida. No two days are the same and no two patients are alike."
Webb said she's seen enough car accidents to know that if drivers wear their seatbelts, slowdown and don't drink and drive, many car crashes could be prevented.
"Many times you get to the scene and you just know that something of this nature could have been prevented," said Webb. "It's when the kids are out of school on spring break and summer vacation that you see more 17 and 18 year olds in bad crashes."
Educating others
When Webb isn't aboard TraumaOne Aeromedical, she's teaching classes to help paramedics expand their healthcare knowledge and attain their certifications.
"The management at Shands both promotes and encourages educational growth in a way that I have never seen any other hospital do," Webb said.
She believes there is nothing more satisfying than when an EMT or paramedic points out that the care they gave to a patient came directly from something that Webb and other TraumaOne nurses taught them.
She describes the educational opportunities offered at Shands Jacksonville as one of a kind. Webb said what challenges her most is staying up to date on the latest treatment and advanced technology.
"We stabilize patients, from newborns to the elderly and the diversity of our patients as well as their injuries helps to make sure that we are equipped to give them the best care possible," Webb added.
The flight crew not only transports patients from the scenes of car crashes, but also patients injured in industrial accidents, falls and all-terrain vehicle crashes as well as heart attack and stroke patients.
An exceptional nurse
Wayne Marshall, Shands Jacksonville's division director of emergency room and trauma services, said Webb has the passion that every aspiring nurse should possess.
"Catherine is an exemplary nurse who is a model of the best that Shands Jacksonville has to offer," Marshall said. "I am appreciative of the dedication she demonstrates for the TraumaOne Flight program, Shands Jacksonville and the patients for whom she cares."
Webb said she is grateful to for the opportunity that she has been afforded by Shands Jacksonville to live her dream as a flight nurse.
"I have been a nurse all my adult life and I cannot imagine doing anything else," Webb said. "Shands Jacksonville's trauma program has given me the opportunity to grow personally and professionally in ways I never imagined."
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