BrewsterConnections - Brewster Academy

Alumni NewsHOOPLAKIM MACDERMOTT ’90EMERGENCY ROOM NURSESTEAMBOAT SPRINGS, COLORADOworked closely with Kim her senior year as she was the editor ofI “Outcroppings,” having taken journalism with me the previous year.While she took the job seriously, she enjoyed reading aloud to others andthat usually led to charged discussions, which led to lots of laughterand fun times. Kim had a way of collecting people. Exceptionally outgoing,energetic, athletic, Kim was always on the move, dragging otherswith her wherever she went. Now, looking back these many years, Ican see through all the activity to the care and attention she gave herfriends, yet, still, I would never have guessed that she’d go into nursing,although now it does make sense to me. Kim’s love of the outdoors ledto her first job as a backcountry education instructor, which requiredher to become a Wilderness First Responder and that was the beginningof Kim’s combining the outdoors with medicine. And she’s still superactive,running marathons, racing mountain bikes, and skiing, skiing,skiing!“I work hard,feel good about what I do for a living,and then I play hard. ”My career in a nutshell: When I graduated from Northern ArizonaUniversity, I got my first job in outdoor education with theAppalachian Mountain Club as a backcountry education instructorand had to become a Wilderness First Responder to be a backcountryguide. That’s what first perked my interest in healthcare. When I firststarted college, I had no direction, had no real idea what I wantedto do in life. I remember thinking about healthcare, but didn’t quitehave the confidence to go in that direction. So, I moved to CrestedButte, Colorado, to become a ski bum and shortly after became anEMT. I volunteered as an EMT on the local ambulance service andworked at the ski area clinic, taking care of the injured skiers. Thenin the summers I worked on the local mountain bike patrol team,rescuing injured mountain bikers and building and maintaining themountain bike patrol trails.And, finally, I applied to nursing school. While I was takingprerequisites for nursing school, I worked as a trauma teacher inthe emergency room in Boulder. After nursing school I moved toSteamboat Springs where I now work full time as a registered nursein the emergency room. This past fall I did some clinical teaching tothe local nursing students.I’m just so thankful that I found a career that I truly love and feelgood about my ability to help others. I love the adrenaline rush Iget when I’m busy taking care of a trauma or a very sick patientin the emergency room. It calls for quick, critical thinking. It’s theKim MacDermott ’90 on duty in Coloradothinking that gets me motivated. I’m always learning and knowwhat I’m doing is helping someone. I can go home at the end of theday feeling good about what I’ve done and knowing that I’ve madesome sort of difference in the world. I also love the team work withthe other staff, the nurses, the doctors, and the techs. We all worktogether helping the patient in our own way. I also love talking tothe patients, finding out about their lives. Some have some prettyinteresting and crazy stories. If I can get a smile out of them, evenwhen they’re feeling awful, or are seriously injured, it makes mefeel good, too.Besides my emergency room work, I have a lifestyle that allows me toenjoy the outdoors, wilderness, fresh powder days, great mountainbiking, beautiful trail runs, and wonderful trips into the backcountry.I’ve run in the town’s last two marathons and was in a big 18-hourmountain bike race in Fruita, Colorado, last spring. I just try to playoutdoors when I’m not in the emergency room. It’s not a big cityhospital, but it’s pretty busy at times. Life is actually pretty simple,but that’s the way I like it. I work hard, feel good about what I dofor a living, and then I play hard. •24BrewsterConnections • WINTER/SPRING 2006