Bryce Bomgaars
June 2025
Bryce
Bomgaars
,
BSN, RN, CCRN
Critical Care Unit
Sanford Health
Sioux Falls
,
SD
United States
Bryce's nursing expertise was evident, but what caused him to truly stand out for me (and my wife) was his calm, friendly, engaging demeanor and his eagerness to actively listen to us with compassion and optimism.
To say that being admitted to the Cardiac ICU--via the ER--was a surprise to me would be a tremendous understatement. I had a heart rate in the 30 BPM range, and had no symptoms that would indicate to me that anything was wrong with me. Within the hour after admission, I was informed that I would need a pacemaker. Even now, a few days removed from that pronouncement, I am baffled and confused. I felt fine, but was told by everyone who saw me that I was not fine.
On Tuesday, I was scheduled for the procedure that would implant a "leadless" pacemaker into my right ventricle. At 7:00 AM on that day, Bryce came on duty as my ICU nurse. It was clear to me that he and I would hit it off from the moment I met him. Bryce's nursing expertise was evident, but what caused him to truly stand out for me (and my wife) was his calm, friendly, engaging demeanor and his eagerness to actively listen to us with compassion and optimism.
He answered, to the best of his ability, all of the questions we had and calmed us about several unknowns that would rear their heads in our near future. Bryce's greatest impact on us, however, had nothing to do with pacemakers, hearts, procedures, or hospitals. Rather, what we will remember about Bryce is how he sat and just visited with us about life. We talked about his road to becoming a nurse, about his upcoming wedding, about his fiancée, about gardening, about goals and dreams that he had, and on and on and on. He never seemed to be in a rush to leave and "get back to work" because he was certainly working as he sat with us, shared with us, and asked about us.
I'm sure Sanford wants to ensure that their personnel are good at their medically related jobs, and Bryce is, beyond doubt, good at that part of his job. In addition, Bryce proved himself to be a master at simply being a human being who cares about other human beings; most notably, this human being who was still a bit baffled about why he was in the hospital in the first place, and a bit nervous about his near and distant future. What a gift you guys have in Bryce Bomgaars!
On Tuesday, I was scheduled for the procedure that would implant a "leadless" pacemaker into my right ventricle. At 7:00 AM on that day, Bryce came on duty as my ICU nurse. It was clear to me that he and I would hit it off from the moment I met him. Bryce's nursing expertise was evident, but what caused him to truly stand out for me (and my wife) was his calm, friendly, engaging demeanor and his eagerness to actively listen to us with compassion and optimism.
He answered, to the best of his ability, all of the questions we had and calmed us about several unknowns that would rear their heads in our near future. Bryce's greatest impact on us, however, had nothing to do with pacemakers, hearts, procedures, or hospitals. Rather, what we will remember about Bryce is how he sat and just visited with us about life. We talked about his road to becoming a nurse, about his upcoming wedding, about his fiancée, about gardening, about goals and dreams that he had, and on and on and on. He never seemed to be in a rush to leave and "get back to work" because he was certainly working as he sat with us, shared with us, and asked about us.
I'm sure Sanford wants to ensure that their personnel are good at their medically related jobs, and Bryce is, beyond doubt, good at that part of his job. In addition, Bryce proved himself to be a master at simply being a human being who cares about other human beings; most notably, this human being who was still a bit baffled about why he was in the hospital in the first place, and a bit nervous about his near and distant future. What a gift you guys have in Bryce Bomgaars!