Fast pace drives nurse

Laura Hochwalt has been a nurse for just six years, and three of those have been spent in the fast-paced, high-energy zone that is Grady Memorial Hospital’s emergency room. But one of biggest challenges of Hochwalt’s nursing career came outside the ER.

In a letter written to Hochwalt’s boss, Dr. Rhonda Scott, a patient described how the agony of a car accident on the Downtown Connector was lessened by the nurse’s arrival on the scene. Dressed in her pristine work uniform, Hochwalt climbed a traffic median, helped several accident victims and called the ER to alert workers about the wreck.

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Leita Cowart / AJC Special

Laura Hochwalt works in the ER at Grady Memorial Hospital. ‘I love the fast pace, the people coming in. We stabilize them and move them on,’ she said.

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For the Union City nurse, it was the kind of trauma situation she’s long been preparing for.

“I went to school in Mobile and then was a charge nurse in St. Louis, my hometown, but I didn’t feel challenged in that job,” Hochwalt said. “I was ready to move on. I always wanted to be in the ER, but you need to have at least a year’s experience before you’re ready.”

What attracted Hochwalt to the ER was the constant change.

“It’s the fast pace, combined with not knowing what’s coming in the door that I like,” she said.

With a mother who was a nurse,

Hochwalt learned about the profession at an early age and always felt drawn to it.

“I spent a lot of time around hospitals,” she said with a laugh. “But I always knew I wanted to be in a Level I trauma center. Even before I moved to Atlanta, I knew that Grady is one. It was where I wanted to be.

“I love the fast pace, the people coming in. We stabilize them and move them on. I don’t necessarily get to build a strong patient relationship, but I did that for three years.”

A typical day, if such a thing exists in the ER, is a 12-hour shift where anything can happen.

“It helps that I can think fast and I do well under pressure,” she said.