NURSES STATION


From Syracuse to overseas PEF steward balances military, nursing careers


By DEBORAH A. MILES It was March 23, 2003, when U.S.


Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch was missing after an Iraqi ambush at Nasiriya. A few days later, a PEF member and Army Captain, Daniel McKillop, was flying out of a combat zone in a large, slow-moving aircraft. He was in non-clearance airspace, and recalled, “Everyone was on edge.” McKillop was part of the evacuation


team and hand-selected to help with the medical and psychological care of the other prisoners of war (POWs) who were rescued with Lynch by the U.S. Marines. “There was a lot of commotion going on


while we were there,” McKillop said. “My job was to keep them safe and attend to their medical needs. The group we were treating was a part of Lynch’s unit. She was taken to Germany for medical care. I was involved with repatriating the others back to the U.S. Armed Forces. I remember that more than anything.” McKillop, who has been decorated with


numerous U.S. service medals and ribbons, also served in Kuwait. Now, his unit will either send him to Iraq or Afghanistan. “I was comfortable with the Iraq


assignment because my job would be to close out all the civil-affairs projects and hand them over to the Department of State,” McKillop said. “I was excited to do that because it would mark the end of Army participation in Iraq and reduce the number of soldiers who would have to go there. “The thought of being deployed to


Afghanistan has me thinking all over again. It is more of a tactical situation. I have to refocus my thinking because I’m going from an assignment where I’d be doing paperwork to one where I would be out and among opposing forces. This Army is the job I chose. The reason I am going overseas is someone feels I will do a good job.”


ONTHE JOB – PEF Region 4 Coordinator Peter Banks and PEF steward Daniel McKillop, both nurses at SUNY Upstate Medical Center, discuss union business.


—Photo by —Photo by CinthiaVulcano CinthiaVulcano


ONTHE JOB – PEF Region 4 Coordinator Peter Banks and PEF steward Daniel McKillop, both nurses at SUNY Upstate Medical Center, discuss union business.


In the states McKillop has a dual career role. For


the past three years, he worked as a teaching and specialty nurse at SUNY’s Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse. As part of a rapid response team at the center, he attended to patients who required immediate rescue attention. “Nurses in the SWAT (Special


Workforce for Acute Treatment) rapid response team carry an in-house beeper. If someone is having a stroke, we can respond,” McKillop said. “Our main job is doing rounds on all the floors and giving patients extra attention and a higher level of care. We call doctors and try to get patients necessary treatments.” Recently, McKillop transferred to a


patient service leader (PSL) position at the hospital’s ears, nose and throat department. McKillop said his interest in health


care began when he was a pre-med student. “It was difficult trying to finish classes


and do my military responsibilities. I knew I wanted to be in the medical field. “The army has given me the


“It upsets me the media and legislators


don’t recognize we are serving the public. It takes special people to do that. My response to the attacks on state workers would be to invite the press to spend a day with me and see how much work is accomplished.” — Daniel McKillop, PEF member and Army Captain


www.pef.org


opportunity to attend a lot of courses that I could not afford. I’ve been to trauma and ballistics training and leadership classes. I also have a dedication to being on time and not call in unless it is absolutely necessary. That’s what the military has instilled in me. As a civil affairs officer, I deal a lot with the public. That gives me skills to deal with patients, their families and the medical staff.”


In the union As if balancing a military and nursing


career, plus a family, isn’t enough, McKillop also is a PEF Division 320 steward. “It was suggested to me to become a


PEF steward because members started asking me questions about the union. I ask a lot of questions and go and find the answers,” he said. “I’ve always had an interest in PEF. I


don’t like someone else doing my work. I like the responsibility of my job and appreciate the protection the union provides. “It upsets me the media and legislators


don’t recognize we are serving the public. It takes special people to do that. My response to the attacks on state workers would be to invite the press to spend a day with me and see how much work is accomplished. “Health care and being a soldier has a


bond. Both roles serve the public. People ask me why I do two jobs. I tell them they are both demanding. Somewhere along the way, someone gave me the duty to do these jobs. I don’t know who. I don’t know where. But I do it because it is the right thing to do,” McKillop said.


The Communicator March 2011—Page 13


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