DATE: Sunday, September 14, 1997            TAG: 9709120263

SECTION: CAROLINA COAST          PAGE: 32   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: BEACH PEOPLE 

SOURCE: BY JEWEL BOND, CORRESPONDENT 

DATELINE: KITTY HAWK                        LENGTH:  104 lines

SPLINTERS TO SERIOUS ILLNESS, NURSE SEES IT ALL

THE PREMISE OF nursing is simple: Provide care for the sick. In the health-care industry, it is one of the most important professions.

A four-year nursing degree includes a thorough grounding in anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, the cause and treatment of disease, nutrition and diet, surgical skills and a variety of techniques pertaining to the proper care of patients.

Many nurses opt for specialized work, such as the care of newborn infants, maternity patients, the mentally ill or patients in the operating room.

For Daphne Hauser, 32, head nurse at the Regional Medical Center in Kitty Hawk, a 24-hour emergency room of sorts, her nursing degree means ``doing it all, from infants to geriatric patients - and being able to change gears accordingly.''

``You have to be prepared for anything,'' Hauser said during a recent shift. ``It's not one of those jobs where you get up in the morning and say, `I'm going to do this and this today.' The public makes that decision for you. It kind of keeps you on your toes.''

Hauser, who supervises 10 full-time and four part-time nurses, has been with the Kitty Hawk medical center since it opened in 1991. She works an 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. shift. The 12-hour day can be more emotionally draining than physically tiring.

``When you hear someone say it's difficult for me to meet people, they are talking about meeting people under the best of circumstances,'' she says. ``Here, we often meet people in the worst of circumstances. And some cases can get to you.''

The center offers appointments for physician care, outpatient treatment and walk-ins as well as emergency treatment. And with the number of fishermen, construction workers, surfers and swimmers on the Outer Banks, there's a full docket - especially during tourist season. The volume of patients increases as the number of visitors increase.

``I guess the bulk of injuries in the summer belongs to swimmers - dislocated shoulders from tumbling in waves, jellyfish stings and stingrays,'' Hauser said. ``And with houses being on stilts and so many steps, there are a lot of fractures from falls.''

With all the wooden decks, there are also a lot of splinters for hands and feet and often other parts of the anatomy. Hauser says they remove a lot of those pesky wood slivers. It's usually a simple procedure unless pieces separate, then you have to pick each piece out.

``We removed a 5-inch splinter from a small child's heel he got from just running across an old wooden deck,'' she says.

Construction accidents are a bit more serious. One worker shot himself in the foot with a nail gun - nailed his tennis shoe right to his foot. After he was X-rayed to make sure the nail didn't go through the bone (it didn't), he was given an antibiotic and a tetanus shot and released for follow-up.

Fishermen usually come in with what the medical center calls fish poisoning. Bacteria gets into an open wound. And, if they are seen soon enough, a good antibiotic is all it takes to clear the infection up in about 48 hours.

``What bothers me,'' Hauser says, ``is that people sometimes don't come in soon enough. I would much rather they come when they think it's trivial than to wait until it's major.''

On days when there are more jellyfish in the sea than swimmers and surfers, a bare body becomes an easy target for painful stings.

And wayward fish hooks float menacingly or lie in wait in the sand.

There is a Wall of Misfortune near the nurse's station where numerous fish hooks are displayed on a cork board. Orange and shimmery, hot pink, lime green and two-toned colored lures hang by the point that once laid claim to an unsuspecting foot or finger. There is also a body-shivering, 7-inch steel Marlin hook that had to be removed from a patient's foot by an orthopedic surgeon.

With daily stress from sickness and accidents, it's important that nurses have good senses of humor. Every now and then a patient can bring a smile or outright laughter, as in the case of one lad who was brought in screaming. Calling him a ``little faker,'' the doctor removed a non-threatening hook that had snagged only the seat of his swim trunks.

Hauser and her nursing staff are big supporters of the patients they see. But many times they never know the full outcome of their patient care.

``We treat them and never know how much we've done for them,'' she said. ``We rarely get feedback as to how they are doing. Sometimes a doctor's office will call and tell us we did an excellent job caring for their patient.''

After a stressful day at work, Hauser and her husband Clay, 33, who works for the Division of Marine Fisheries, rent movies or watch TV to unwind. But they don't watch the popular medical program ER. Hauser says she finds herself treating each patient that walks through the on-screen door. And that does not relax her.

``I prefer a simpler form of entertainment - like a good comedy. On weekends I enjoy our two dogs and spending time on house and yard projects. And I like to fish,'' she said. ``Well, Clay likes to fish. But I think it's the boat ride I actually like.''

It's a bit like the show, ER, on this early September day, when four ambulances arrive at the same time. Everyone is needed. The staff at Regional Medical Center moves quickly and efficiently, working to stabilize those patients with life-threatening problems.

But the care doesn't stop here. Nurses will monitor the progress of these patients until they can be transferred to a hospital - or, eventually, sent home.

``We are not superheroes. We can't and don't change the world,'' Hauser said. ``But we gain a lot of pride out of doing the small things that can make a difference in someone's life.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by DREW WILSON

Daphne Hauser, head nurse at the Regional Medical Center in Kitty

Hawk, sees a variety of injuries and illnesses during a typical

12-hour shift.

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