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Mike Bell went from pounding bodies on the gridiron to repairing them when he became an emergency room nurse at Hattiesburg’s Forrest General Hospital.

Bell, who earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing in 1993 from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, had a football scholarship but decided not to pursue sports.

“A friend of mine suggested going to FGH to get a job,” Bell said. “We split a full-time ER technician job. My major was in the business field but I discovered I liked helping and interacting with people. I wanted to make a difference in peoples’ lives.” Bell, who was born in Jackson and raised in McComb, started working part-time at Forrest General in 1988, and joined the ER team full-time when he graduated from USM. He has been there 20 years now, spending his entire career in the ER.

His supervisor describes him as an “exceptional ER nurse,” both in his skills and assessments.

“Mike is an excellent team player as seen in his initiative and willingness to help others,” said Dot Denham-Jarrell, patient care manager for Emergency Services. “He’s always willing to accept the responsibility of PCC when needed.
He responds professionally and spontaneously in crisis situations. If I were the patient, I would want to look up and know Mike Bell is the one taking care of me.”

Bell works a 12-hour shift, but there are no typical days.

“We rotate between areas of the emergency room, so I may treat a patient with cold/cough symptoms one shift, a patient with abdominal pain the next shift, or a patient having a heart attack in our critical care area the next,” Bell said.
Male nurses may have an advantage over females in commanding respect, he said. “Maybe because usually in our society, males are seen as a more authoritative figure.”

The only drawback to being a male nurse, he said, is being called upon to help with lifting.

He said he would encourage other men to become nurses because there is a demand for them.

While the fast pace of the emergency room keeps the job interesting, there is one thing he would like to change about his job.

“In the emergency room, we’re expected to do things quickly, professionally and accurately. It’s fast-paced and the workload can change according to patient volume or patient acuity. Unfortunately, this means I cannot spend as much time as I would like with each patient and their family. It would be nice to be able to get to know your patients better.”

Working in the ER is quite different from being an RN on a floor, Bell said.
“We differ from a floor RN in that everything has to be done now. You don’t know what will be the next emergency that comes in to the ER. Once the floor gets full, they can no longer accept admissions. The ER never closes. If we’re full and an emergency comes such as a motor vehicle accident, we have to make room to care for that critical patient.”

Bell faces life-and-death situations on a daily basis, and he has learned to keep his cool in critical situations.

“Over the years, I’ve learned to take a deep breath and focus on the patient,” he said. “I try to think that this is someone’s mother or child and what I do or don’t do is going to make a difference in the outcome of the patient. When you lose your cool, you lose your ability for critical thinking. Remaining calm helps to alleviate fears of the patient and family.”

Bell, who has been married for two years and has three step-children, said he is able to leave the job behind when he goes home.

“I come home to my wife and family and talk about their day or how they’re doing,” he said. “We also have eight dogs, so it’s hard to be upset when either an 8-pound Chihuahua or a 140-pound Rottweiler is licking you in the face.”



July 2008

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