Being a new nurse comes with many challenges and gaining experience is a journey, but Haley Carroll’s first day on the job was far from her first day in a hospital.
Haley was diagnosed with lymphoma right before her senior year of high school, and she was declared cancer-free on December 2, 2015.
Inspired by the incredible care she received during her cancer treatments and during her time at Renown Children’s Hospital, Haley enrolled in nursing school at the University of Nevada, Reno. She graduated in December 2020, just five years after beating cancer.
“I’ve always been interested in nursing,” Haley says. “But once I was diagnosed and began to see everything that my nurses did for me, I knew that that’s what I wanted to do for patients, too.”
Determination in Action
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Now a registered nurse, Haley works on the cancer unit at Renown Regional Medical Center, where she provides care to patients battling cancer. Just like her nurses cared for her.
“I’ve learned how much of an impact I can have on my patients,” she says. “I’ve been able to share my cancer survival story with some of my patients and my experience has helped me form an even stronger connection with them. I know what they’re going through – I know the pain – being able to understand them on a deeper level helps me be a better nurse.”
Remember the 2000s era iPhone commercial with the “There’s an App for That” tagline? Let’s put a healthcare spin on that – at Renown Health, there’s a unit for that. Emergency, labor and delivery, pediatric acute care, trauma, surgery, the list goes on.
When it comes to critical care, your mind probably jumps to either the intensive care unit (ICU), emergency room (ER) or a unit that provides care for a more standard hospitalization. But what about the patients who fall in between those two levels of care?
Yep, there’s a unit for that at Renown, too. It’s called the Intermediate Care Unit (IMCU), located on the sixth floor of the Tahoe Tower (T6) at Renown Regional Medical Center, boasting a dedicated team of nurses, physicians, critical care technicians and more.
The IMCU cares for patients who still need close monitoring and specialized care but don't need an ICU stay. Everyone in this department shares common missions: catch early signs of change, intervene swiftly and help patients progress to a lower level of care – and eventually, back home.
On the Horizon. As the first academic and clinical research enterprise in Nevada, Renown Health and the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine partner to provide access to the region’s most advanced clinical trials. Our Office of Clinical Research supports numerous research efforts in various specialties and actively seeks new collaborations. Dozens of open clinical trials, including these, are currently underway at Renown Health.
