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Smith takes emergency skills on the road by Heather Woolwine Public Relations Pam Smith, R.N., Pediatric Emergency Services, headed home June 8 after teaching a clinic for Trident Technical College students on the MUSC campus.     As she traveled up Highway 61 towards Summerville, Smith came upon a car accident that had just happened. Other motorists were stopped and trying to assist the two victims.    Knowing that she was likely the only medical professional on site at the moment, she pulled over to offer her assistance. The sight of a bystander holding a limp child in his arms immediately sent her mind reeling.    “I know they were trying to help, but that is the absolute last thing you should do when dealing with someone who’s been in a serious car accident, unless of course they are in imminent danger,” Smith said. “I’m pretty tuned into what should and should not happen at the scene of an accident, as my husband works with EMS.”    Knowing that EMS had already been called, but unsure of how long it would take them to get there, Smith took control of the situation. She stabilized the child’s neck and began to administer first aid.     Riding in the car with his father, the 5-year-old boy’s only protection against the violent ricochet from one tree to another had been the lap belt in the back seat, a seat belt meant to be worn across the shoulders as well as the lap.    “I will never forget those little hazel eyes looking up at me,” Smith said. “Children must be in either a car seat or a booster seat until they reach 80 pounds.”    As police arrived, they were hesitant to call Meducare without an EMS supervisor on the scene, but Smith insisted, having already assessed the boy’s critical condition and severe back or neck injury.    The boy’s father, trapped in the vehicle and also suffering from severe injuries, was able to talk to Smith and describe his areas of discomfort, so she focused on the younger patient already extricated from the vehicle.     Pam Smith, R.N., right, and Martha Rogers, R.N., discuss a patient's chart. “Pam is an excellent emergency department nurse and clinical nurse leader in Children’s Emergency Services,” said Debbie Browning, R.N., Pediatric Emergency Department nurse manager. “She is a real advocate of children in our community, and she displays very child-friendly behavior. She attempts to make children and their families comfortable in our ED.”    When asked why she felt the need to stop and assist at an accident while on her way home from a long day at work spent helping others, Smith’s love of nursing is apparent.    Smith comforts a 16-month-old patient with a toy after an examination.  “I will admit that it can be hard to keep your compassion at times,” she said, “But it’s never a child’s fault when something happens to them. I’ve been a nurse for 17 years, and I love working in the pediatric emergency room because I never know what I may do in a given day. There’s just something about administering emergency care that I love, that’s just a part of me. It’s knowing that I can make a real difference in someone’s life and seeing a child who wasn’t supposed to make it walk through the door two months later.” Effective July 1, 2001, the S.C. Legislature passed the following seat belt bill: A child, birth to one year or weighing less than 20 pounds must be in a rear-facing safety seat. A child, five or younger, who weighs between 20 and 40 pounds must be in a forward facing safety seat. A child, five or younger, who weighs between 40 and 80 pounds must be in a booster seat with a shoulder belt. A child who weighs at least 80 pounds or who can sit with his back straight against the vehicle seat back cushion, with knees bent over the seat’s edge without slouching, may use an adult seat belt. No child five or younger may ride in the front seat. Friday, July 2, 2004 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.