As Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center prepares for a brand new critical care department opening in 2021, it’s still business as usual in our current critical care units. In the medical-surgical intensive care unit (MSICU), we are celebrating medical-surgical nurse’s week, Nov. 1-7. In honor of the week, we sat down with three MSICU nurses to talk about their field and learn more about them. Read about RNs Brittany Taylor, Hannah Crawford and Hannah Miles below, and happy medical-surgical nurse’s week!

Where are you from?

BT: Maryville

HC: Corryville

HM: Virginia originally, but I live in Powell now

How long have you worked at Fort Sanders Regional?

BT: Two years

HC: Less than one year

HM: A little over one year

What do you do as a medical-surgical nurse?

All: What don’t we do? We take care of critical patients including COVID-19 patients. We help patients with ventilators, pneumonia, GI bleeding and more, and we use a wide variety of skills to take care of our patients the best we can.

Why did you pursue a career in medical-surgical nursing/critical care?

All: There are so many learning opportunities in critical care as well as hands-on work and critical thinking. Situations arise, and you have to be quick on your feet. There’s definitely an adrenaline rush in those situations. We also really enjoy the personalized, one-on-one care we provide to each of our patients.

What’s the best part of your job?

BT: We all come together as a team in the ICU. Particularly during the pandemic, I’ve relied on my coworkers now more than ever. Plus, I enjoy our personalized approach to patient care.

HC: I realize the severity of a variety of illnesses, and particularly COVID-19, from working in the ICU. This has helped me grow as a medical professional.

HM: I love hearing the patient success stories and know that I contributed to their success in some way.

Why do you work at Fort Sanders Regional/Covenant Health?

BT: Fort Sanders Regional is very community-based and patient-centered, so it’s a great place to work.

HC: My family always came here to be treated, so I decided it would be a good place to work. Covenant also has really great benefits for employees. And, I appreciate the patient-centered culture at Fort Sanders Regional—the patient always comes first.

HM: I was looking for a good ICU to work in. I worked at a different facility and decided to transfer to Fort Sanders Regional because of the variety of patients and conditions treated in the ICU here.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

BT: I like going to concerts and traveling.

HC: I love being outdoors and shopping!

HM: Definitely shopping but also putting my feet up and relaxing.

What’s your favorite food?

BT: Crab legs

HC: French fries

HM: Mexican food

What’s your favorite TV show/band?

BT: My favorite band of all time is Blink-182, and my favorite TV show is The Office.

HC: My favorite TV show is Grey’s Anatomy.

HM: It’s recent, but my favorite show right now is Yellowstone.