Burn care nurse provides comfort and care to ease patient pain

As a UCHealth burn care nurse, Marvin Mendez spends much of his job taking care of patients during the absolute worst part of their day: dressing changes.

But with his skill, dedication and determination to tend to a patient’s emotional needs as well as their physical ones, he does his best to make the best out of an awful situation, so much so that once Mendez’ patients leave the hospital, they often come back to thank him for his role in their recovery.

“It’s a beautiful art of distraction,” Mendez said. “Combined with state-of-the-art anesthesia, we try to deliver the best possible wound care available.”

He tries to get to know each patient. He eases their fears if he can, meets their family members if possible, and plays and sings along to their favorite tunes while he dresses their burn wounds.

“I think it helps that I’m a very vocal person. I’m not shy, and I try to talk to the patients and get their minds off of what’s going on. Singing helps. Talking helps. It all helps.”

Mendez, 31, began as an advanced care partner and worked his way up to a nurse and charge nurse at the UCHealth Burn and Frostbite Center on the Anschutz Medical Campus.

The facility is Colorado’s premier burn center and was the first of its kind in the Rocky Mountain region.

While patients receive top-notch care at the center, their injuries can seem overwhelming.

“It can be scary at first, especially if you create pain for the patient as you’re changing their dressing. But then, you realize that pain, unfortunately, has to be part of it, which is where the UCHealth Burn Unit staff excels at helping patients deal with that pain.”

Mendez acknowledges that burn care nursing can be challenging. He first became interested in specializing in the field while he was a nursing student. The latest research intrigued him, and he was eager to learn about innovative skin grafting products and new ways to control pain.

Mendez is also proud of the innovative sedation practices that he and providers at the center use to reduce patients’ pain as much as possible. Mendez also helps spearhead efforts to ensure that staff members always are learning about the newest techniques to care for patients and to keep them safe.

For instance, he facilitated mock sedation overdose scenarios during staff trainings to be sure that he and his colleagues are comfortable using potentially life-saving methods in worst-case scenarios.

“It’s important to maintain top safety standards regarding who administers these anesthetics, and how they’re administered,” he said.

A Denver native, Mendez loves staying active when he’s not at work. His hobbies include:  rollerblading, snowboarding, backpacking and paddle boarding. And to further unwind during his time off, he recently got a dog, although he jokes that it may have added stress to his life instead of taking it away.

He is proud of the work that he and his Burn Center peers do, and the caring way in which they treat their patients.

“We are a very caring group, and we do amazing things for our patients,” Mendez said. “We are devoted to helping anyone going through this difficult time in their life and want to help heal their burns as well as other issues the patient may have. The Burn Center has a robust interdisciplinary team who go above and beyond to improve the patient experience.”