Spotlight on Candler Hospital operating room nurse Brian Hall
Brian Hall
Registered nurse in the operating room
Education: College of Coastal Georgia, Brunswick
Nursing since 2018; surgical technologist for more than 11 years prior, all at St. Joseph’s/Candler
SJ/C: Why did you decide to become a nurse?
Brian: I never thought I’d be a nurse. I always thought I’d be a physician. When the concept was introduced to me about nursing, I was a bit standoffish, but seeing how healthcare was going and my parents becoming a bit older, I definitely wanted to be an asset to them. It extended from my parents to my church family because there are a lot of older individuals that I took care of while I was a surgical technologist who had questions about their health. I decided I would be the individual that could be that buffer. I wanted to get the education so I can learn what questions they should be asking. I still do that. If they bring me something, I don’t diagnosis anything. I just say, ‘Ask about this. Ask about that.’ I just want to be that buffer/mediator. It's important to me to support my family and support my community where medicine is concerned. My sister was a big influence too. She’s an LPN.
SJ/C: How have your years as a surgical tech helped you as a nurse?
Brian: As a surgical tech, I had a lot of nurses that I looked up to. These individuals definitely honed in on what it is to have superior, not just adequate, but superior patient care and to be that advocate. Those years as a surgical technologist, being in that environment, being around those nurses, going to Coastal College of Georgia and now practicing as a nurse, I use a lot of those experiences. I was raised that experience is the best teacher. I took a lot of those experiences and modeled myself after those nurses that I’ve seen.
I was told the saying, ‘Five minutes up front saves you two hours in the end.’ If you take five minutes and take your time to pay attention to the details, your patient has a better outcome in the end. That’s definitely what I took from being a surgical technologist. Having prior experience as a surgical technologist also helps me as an intraoperative nurse because I have a different skill set than a new grad nurse going straight into the operating room. The sterile environment is a very different. I’m told I’m an asset when it comes to helping out surgical technologists, especially to those just starting out. Same with new nurses; this is how you have to maneuver. It’s a different arena than being on the floor.
SJ/C: Why did you decide to stay in the OR once you became a nurse?
Brian: I actually didn’t stay in the OR. When I first got hired (as a nurse), I did my practicum, which is a preceptorship with a specific nurse, in PCU here. They offered me a job. I knew I liked the OR, but I realized, again, experience is the best teacher. I also realized nursing in the operating room is a lot different than floor nursing, so you don’t get to lock in those skills that you learned in school if you go directly to the operating room. You rarely start an IV or have time for a complete head to toe assessment in the operating room. I have to rely on skills I’ve acquired to do a focused assessment. I was a big fan of critical care. I wanted sicker patients, and I wanted the older population as well. I started in progressive care and then transferred to ICU. After a couple of good months in ICU, COVID happened. After that, I matriculated down to the OR. I went back to what I knew to be home.
SJ/C: What are some of your responsibilities as a nurse in the operating room, especially as much as you work with the da Vinci Robotic Surgical System?
Brian: My responsibilities, first and foremost, include being my patient’s advocate. I read the charts even before meeting patients, speak to the physicians and facilitate the team to ensure all are on board and all the gears are in place so the surgery runs well. It’s facilitating, organizing and definitely the support; making sure the surgical technologist is there and ready with items needed; making sure any reps are there and ready with any extra equipment that needs to be there. It’s important for me as the nurse to foster that concept of team.
Specifically with the da Vinci, I work with Dr. Sarah Gill most often, who is a gynecologic oncologist. The Da Vinci robot actually came to Savannah during my time as a surgical technologist, so I was privy to some of the first surgeries here. Working with the da Vinci is phenomenal. The robot itself has a lot of intricate parts to it. I do take it upon myself to do the extra deep dive into it. I’m on the phone or in-person with the representatives of da Vinci to get further insight. I’m a firm believer in not only knowing the surface information, like turning the machine on and off and how to properly situate it for a procedure, but what happens when something goes wrong. What happens when I can’t get the person on the 1-800 line to answer?
Patients tend to do a lot better with the da Vinci. Recovery time is a lot better, and there’s less pain and less risk for breaks in sterile technique. Dr. Gill and her team are super skilled. It’s like watching the conductor with a symphony. As a matter of fact, we just celebrated her 2000th procedure using the da Vinci. I am always wowed by things we are doing with da Vinci and the level of care it allows us to provide.
SJ/C: What do you love about your job?
Brian: I love the education. I love to learn. I’m a student of the world. I like to engage in intellectual conversations, anything that is going to make me a little better, a little more knowledgeable. I also love patient interaction. One of the key components of being an effective nurse, is you have to be a detective, which is one of the things I really loved about the floor. I would come in on a shift to a patient who was admitted recently or a week ago, and have a slue of notes to read. I would converse with the family, and piece together the story line to make sure I can contribute effective care to the patient. As much as I like patient engagement, I, of course like my co-workers, just as much. I have a fondness for St. Joseph’s/Candler. Many of these individuals go above and beyond. Those are the individuals, who make up the team, that makes you want to come to work, to be here and supply that extra bit of energy that you need. So, it’s the patients, the education and my co-workers.
SJ/C: Two days a week, you get outside of the OR and help mentor future nursing students. What is some common advice you share with them or would share with those considering a career in nursing?
Brian: Anything that you can imagine, you can do it as a nurse. You can’t stay on the surface. You have to do a deep dive to really get all that nursing has to offer. One of the big things that I tell people who want to go into nursing is, you have to be selfless. You’re going to give more of yourself than you are going to receive, and you have to be OK with that.
One of the things I give to my students and try to strongly impress on their minds and hearts is: “Remember your Why.” The first day, during orientation, I ask them, ‘Why do you want to become a nurse?’ When the days get hard, when you are pushed up against the wall, the hours are long, your feet are hurting, your hips are hurting, and when you’ve been berated with rude comments, you have to remember your Why, because that is the only thing that is going to keep you going. So, what’s my Why: my family and my community. I have to do this because of and for them.
Hobbies/Interests: I love music. I play the alto saxophone and have been playing it since the fourth grade. I’m in a couple of civic and social organizations, namely, Mt. Moriah Lodge #15, Prince Hall Free and Accepted Masons and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. 1911. I do give back in the community outside the hospital. I’m big on working with the youth and giving back to the kids. I spend a lot of time doing church activities. I do believe that anything we attain is not for us. We can’t take it with us when our time is up, so we have to do something in our lifetime to leave for those coming behind us. That’s really my hobby. Besides playing my horn, I really just want to be present to help out and give back.