Critical Care ICU

Specialties & Experience of this Expert Witness

Additional Information

I am a Legal Nurse Consultant and Nurse Expert Witness with 20 years of experience caring for patients in a variety of Surgical Intensive Critical Care (ICU) specialty areas. My experience in nursing includes Cardiovascular Surgery, Coronary Care, Neuro-Surgical, Trauma and Surgical Intensive Critical Care and Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) Specialist. As a travel nurse for 7 years, I have a wide variety of exposure to different hospital system policies and operations as well as different platforms for documentation in the EHR. I have been reviewing medical records as an expert witness since 2017 and have consulted on over 30 cases. I have been deposed twice. I have been retained as an expert in critical care standards for matters involving nursing board disciplinary hearings. As an excellent communicator, I leverage my logic and analytical skills to delve deep into the records, identifying any strengths or potential deviations from the standard of care. I communicate my findings and opinions professionally, clearly and consistently, even when I am challenged by the creative suggestions of an opposing attorney. More recently, it has been imperative to have a legal nurse consultant or expert who has provided nursing care in various facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether planning to use its impact for defense or to ignore such reality as a plaintiff’s attorney, I can help determine if causation was from destabilization due to the unavoidable changes to the delivery of care versus valid evidence suggesting otherwise. I have researched many executive orders and have firsthand knowledge and authoritative resources of the crisis or emergency standard of care and hospital policy changes during this period. I have published hospital policies, protocols, medical order sets, staffing matrix, supervised staff, led education initiatives, presented at national organizations and have been a clinical instructor. I would be honored to serve as part of your team. Keywords: Cardio-Thoracic Surgery complications, emergency sternotomy, cardiac tamponade, heart transplant, lung transplant, coronary bypass, valve replacement, TAVR, chest tube, pleural tube, epicardial pacing wire, tamponade precautions, cardioversion, defibrillation, medical devices, ventricular assist devices (Impella, centrimag, oxygenator, ECMO cannulation, tandem heart, intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP), heartmate, transvenous pacemaker), anticoagulation therapy, pulmonary artery catheter, esophagectomy, pneumonectomy, sternal precautions, fall precautions, restraints. Post-vascular surgery care for aortic aneurysm, fem-pop bypass, and carotid endarterectomy. CCU, CICU, STEMI/NSTEMI, post-heart catheterization, arrhythmia, dysrhythmia, heart failure, cardiomyopathy, pacemakers, syncope, cardiac/ventricular support devices, targeted temperature management (TTM) post-cardiac arrest, paralytics, BIS monitoring, CPOT, SAS, Riker, pain score, pain reassessment, continuous sedation infusion, continuous pain medication infusion. Neurosurgical-Trauma, NSICU, NICU advanced post-surgical and neurologic injury, spinal shock, cauda equina, ischemic, thrombolytic, hemorrhagic stroke, TPA therapy, and intracranial pressure (ICP) with external ventricular drains (EVD), 3% hypertonic saline therapy, mannitol, acute cerebral edema, diabetes insipidus, neurosurgery, craniotomy, craniectomy, traumatic brain injury, axonal injury, acute spinal cord injury. Surgical Intensive Care, SICU, Medical Intensive Critical Care, MICU, GI bleed, hemorrhage shock, hypovolemic shock, septic shock, head and neck surgery with muscle flap, hypotension, vasoactive medications, cardiac arrest resuscitation (BLS/ACLS), sepsis, vasopressor, tension pneumothorax, hemothorax, chest tube placement, ventilator-dependent respiratory failure, ARDS, pneumonia, CRRT, CVVHDF, citrate and calcium gluconate infusion complications, pulmonary embolism, EKOS catheter, liver & kidney failure.