The High-Flying Nurse Mendoza

Allow us to introduce Edgar Mendoza, an ICU nurse with a big personality and an even bigger social media following. A familiar face on YouTube since 2005, Mendoza has since taken to Twitter and Instagram to share his experiences with new and veteran nurses alike—and with a splash of humor.

Nursing, however, wasn’t always a part of Mendoza’s plan. “I wanted to be a college counselor,” he reveals. “Ultimately, I made my decision to become a nurse when I saw how much passion and knowledge a nurse displayed while caring for my grandma in the critical-care unit.” Since then, he says, he’s never looked back, “nosediving without a parachute” into a career in nursing. “I treat every patient as though they were my very own loved one,” he tells us, mirroring the quality care that his grandmother received. “We may be in their lives for 12 hours, but they remember us for a lifetime.”

Today, Mendoza is happy to report that every day as a nurse still offers new challenges, and he cites the acronym PLAN as a survival tactic: proactive thinking, leadership skills, advocacy, and some good old-fashioned nurse humor. Just don’t try to tell Mendoza that he doesn’t fit the traditional nursing mold. “I’m a Hispanic male nurse with tattoos, and I’m helping to save lives every day,” he tells us. “I love what I do because I have passion.”

Follow Edgar Mendoza, CVICU, RN, on YouTube (NurseMendoza), Twitter (@youtubenurse), Instagram (nursemendoza) and at medmagazine.com/nurseonalities.