SOOOOOO, I am done now with clinicals as of April 10th and I am so grateful for the opportunity to work with an amazing nurse. I had gotten up to taking care of 3 patients and boy, everything flies by if you don't watch the time! It made me really really really want to be an RN and not a SN anymore. However, I still have so much to learn.
My favorite patient had to be 'Wild Bill' and his family. He and his family were so nice. He found out I am interested in Vietnam, and with him being a Vietnam vet, he talked to me for a while about his experiences. And they were intense.
Another favorite patient of mine had a name that was after a Greek myth and he had bilateral above-the-knee amputations. He was very quiet but when you got him talking, his stories were incredible. He loved talking about his 5 kids.
As of right now, I am just waiting for the days to pass by until Graduation. I am so thrilled my mom, grandma, sister and brother-in-law are coming and just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes! So many people have shown what love is supposed to be and that has been crucial for me these past 10 months. May 8/9 get here please!!!
April 20, 2009
March 30, 2009
The Code
March 26, 2009
I had my first patient die today. It was not weird or creepy, but it was quite sudden. Literally, one second she was alive, and the next second, she had no pulse (I was feeling her pulse when it vanished). The STAT team was able to revive her temporarily but a mere five minutes later, she passed away. I was there at the bedside the entire time, holding the patient's wrist because she had had IV Heparin running but had pulled the IV out. Naturally, her blood just starting oozing all over her hand and her bed. I didn't want that to be more traumatizing to the granddaughter, so I just held gauze to her wrist and stroked her hand as the granddaughter said her goodbyes. She knew it was time. I tried to be as comforting as possible which meant I just stood there with the granddaughter and didn't say much. Jennifer and I cleaned the room as much as we could, and then just gave the family space to say goodbye.
Whoa...
I had my first patient die today. It was not weird or creepy, but it was quite sudden. Literally, one second she was alive, and the next second, she had no pulse (I was feeling her pulse when it vanished). The STAT team was able to revive her temporarily but a mere five minutes later, she passed away. I was there at the bedside the entire time, holding the patient's wrist because she had had IV Heparin running but had pulled the IV out. Naturally, her blood just starting oozing all over her hand and her bed. I didn't want that to be more traumatizing to the granddaughter, so I just held gauze to her wrist and stroked her hand as the granddaughter said her goodbyes. She knew it was time. I tried to be as comforting as possible which meant I just stood there with the granddaughter and didn't say much. Jennifer and I cleaned the room as much as we could, and then just gave the family space to say goodbye.
Whoa...
March 24, 2009
this should be a hint....
on why I shouldn't do blogs!! I can't keep up with them!!
Since February, I have had 3 more clinicals. I have been assigned two patients each time and although nothing 'spectacular' has happened, I have still learned so much. I continue to give all meds, document all assessments, and fully enjoy my patient's company. I have had to call MD's for order clarifications and also report a change in a patient's status. That was a little intimidating ONLY because I had never done it before. The MDs that I have had to contact were really nice so that made it easier.
I also had two interviews today with Piedmong regarding my placement for the Residency Program...whoa. So glad that is over with! Luckily, I was not intimidated by any of the interviewers, but I was nervous about the questions they were going to ask. I think I did really well, so in the next couple weeks, I will know what floor I am going to be working on as an RN!!
Since February, I have had 3 more clinicals. I have been assigned two patients each time and although nothing 'spectacular' has happened, I have still learned so much. I continue to give all meds, document all assessments, and fully enjoy my patient's company. I have had to call MD's for order clarifications and also report a change in a patient's status. That was a little intimidating ONLY because I had never done it before. The MDs that I have had to contact were really nice so that made it easier.
I also had two interviews today with Piedmong regarding my placement for the Residency Program...whoa. So glad that is over with! Luckily, I was not intimidated by any of the interviewers, but I was nervous about the questions they were going to ask. I think I did really well, so in the next couple weeks, I will know what floor I am going to be working on as an RN!!
March 5, 2009
5th/6th Days
February 26th
Today I had my own patient (again)! I know it was only one person, but to be 'in charge' of her care for the whole day was pretty exciting. I gave her all her medications and monitored her blood sugar during the shift. She did not have a whole lot going on with her, but that gave me time to figure out other things on the unit such as the charting system. All electronic charting has both positive and negative aspects in my mind, but I seem to be getting the hang of it.
She was incredibly easy to take care of but I was so happy my nurse has been trusting me and encouraging me to become more independent. The charge nurse also gave me my very own medicine cabinet key.... I felt so special!!
February 27th
Today, I got assigned 2 patients!! Whoa!! They were still the 'easiest' out of my nurse's assignments, but it was still a big deal to me. It was incredible how much just one person will make you schedule your day in a completely different way because now you have 2 sets of vital signs, blood sugars, medications, charting duties, and assessments you have to keep track of. I actually am highly leaning towards being a general med-surg nurse as my first rotation and there you have at least 5 or 6 patients!!
One of my patients was the woman I had had the day before (which was nice because she knew me and I knew what to expect with her) and the other patient was a man who had come in to get treated for fluid overload (extremely common with people with congestive heart failure and is sometimes indicative of non-compliance with meds, diet, exercise, etc....). So he didn't have a lot going on either but my nurse wanted me to get used to multi-tasking to work on my time-management.
Again, I gave all shots (PO, IV, IM) and charted and basically just tried to make them as comfortable as possible. I made one mistake regarding medications by accidentally deleting her scheduled meds from the medication scanner and my nurse had to manually input all the orders back in to the scanner. BUT, she was so nice about it and said 'we are all human and we all make mistakes'. I could not have asked for a better preceptor.
At the end of the day I was exhausted, but it was really really neat to have two patients to call my own ;)
Today I had my own patient (again)! I know it was only one person, but to be 'in charge' of her care for the whole day was pretty exciting. I gave her all her medications and monitored her blood sugar during the shift. She did not have a whole lot going on with her, but that gave me time to figure out other things on the unit such as the charting system. All electronic charting has both positive and negative aspects in my mind, but I seem to be getting the hang of it.
She was incredibly easy to take care of but I was so happy my nurse has been trusting me and encouraging me to become more independent. The charge nurse also gave me my very own medicine cabinet key.... I felt so special!!
February 27th
Today, I got assigned 2 patients!! Whoa!! They were still the 'easiest' out of my nurse's assignments, but it was still a big deal to me. It was incredible how much just one person will make you schedule your day in a completely different way because now you have 2 sets of vital signs, blood sugars, medications, charting duties, and assessments you have to keep track of. I actually am highly leaning towards being a general med-surg nurse as my first rotation and there you have at least 5 or 6 patients!!
One of my patients was the woman I had had the day before (which was nice because she knew me and I knew what to expect with her) and the other patient was a man who had come in to get treated for fluid overload (extremely common with people with congestive heart failure and is sometimes indicative of non-compliance with meds, diet, exercise, etc....). So he didn't have a lot going on either but my nurse wanted me to get used to multi-tasking to work on my time-management.
Again, I gave all shots (PO, IV, IM) and charted and basically just tried to make them as comfortable as possible. I made one mistake regarding medications by accidentally deleting her scheduled meds from the medication scanner and my nurse had to manually input all the orders back in to the scanner. BUT, she was so nice about it and said 'we are all human and we all make mistakes'. I could not have asked for a better preceptor.
At the end of the day I was exhausted, but it was really really neat to have two patients to call my own ;)
February 20, 2009
Fourth Day...
So today (February 17) I was assigned to take care of just one patient so I could get used to giving meds and charting. Luckily, my patient was extremely sweet and did not have too many things wrong with him, but he taught me so much about communication and time management. Hopefully, by next week I will get two patients and see how that goes ;)
With my one patient I did assessments, gave PO meds, gave Insulin shots, and did little things for him like get him water, take his empty meal trays, and interacted with his family when they visited.
Another younger nurse let me help her take out an NG tube and a catheter and we just talked awhile about graduation and studying for NCLEX.
It was a good day!
With my one patient I did assessments, gave PO meds, gave Insulin shots, and did little things for him like get him water, take his empty meal trays, and interacted with his family when they visited.
Another younger nurse let me help her take out an NG tube and a catheter and we just talked awhile about graduation and studying for NCLEX.
It was a good day!
February 11, 2009
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
So according to Myers-Briggs, I have an E.S.F.J. type personality which states:
Warmhearted, conscientious, and cooperative. Want harmony in their environment, work with determination to establish it. Like to work with others to complete tasks accurately and on time. Loyal, follow through even in small patterns. Notice what others need in their day-to-day lives and try to provide it. Want to be appreciative for who they are and for what they contribute....
Key Descriptors:
Conscientious, cooperative, harmonious, loyal, personable, responsible, responsive, social, sympathetic, tactful, thorough, traditional
Sound like me?!?!
Hayden, on the other hand, is a I.N.T.P. personality type which states:
Seek to develop logical explanations for everything that interests them (which drives me nuts!). Theoretical and abstract, interested more in ideas than social interaction (he's an extreme home-body). Quiet, contained, flexible, and adaptable. Have unusual ability to focus in depth to solve problems in their area of interests. Skeptical, sometimes critical, always analytical.
However, we are wonderful together and I could not have asked for a more perfect best-friend/husband than him!!
Third Day...
no, not the band!
For the third day of clinicals, I wrote down specific goals I wanted to acheive during my shift and they included:
1. Give one patient his or her meds the entire day
2. Hang one IV bag
3. Assess all my patients after my nurse did so I could compare my findings
Soooooooo, my nurse let me give ALL the meds to ALL our patients, let me do 4 medications through INTs (one while she wasn't even in the room), help her hang a bag of blood for someone who needed some red blood cells, and let me draw up all the liquid medications we had to give that day. This nurse is a God-send and I have learned so much in just 3 days. I still, just from my experiences, am leaning towards being a med-surg nurse now over an ICU nurse (for now) and I feel at great peace about that decision. I always thought I wanted to be strictly ICU, but this experience so far made me realize that a generalized medical floor is extremely fun! I know I will be a cardiac expert one day, but I am trying really hard to keep my options open.
A little side note: 3 of our patients said I was going to be a great nurse one day and that I was doing a great job. My favorite patient from yesterday was this adorable 98 year old man who wanted so badly to get up and walk up and down the halls on his walker but PT never got around to bringing him a walker. While I was giving his medications via his IV, he made a wincing noise and scrunched his face up real tight. I immediately stopped and was apologizing all over the place for hurting him..... then he looked over at me and had a huge smile on his face!! He simply said, "I'm just kidding. You did a wonderful job taking care of me and it was my absolute pleasure to be your guinea pig"....... What a sweetheart! He really made my day even better :)
For the third day of clinicals, I wrote down specific goals I wanted to acheive during my shift and they included:
1. Give one patient his or her meds the entire day
2. Hang one IV bag
3. Assess all my patients after my nurse did so I could compare my findings
Soooooooo, my nurse let me give ALL the meds to ALL our patients, let me do 4 medications through INTs (one while she wasn't even in the room), help her hang a bag of blood for someone who needed some red blood cells, and let me draw up all the liquid medications we had to give that day. This nurse is a God-send and I have learned so much in just 3 days. I still, just from my experiences, am leaning towards being a med-surg nurse now over an ICU nurse (for now) and I feel at great peace about that decision. I always thought I wanted to be strictly ICU, but this experience so far made me realize that a generalized medical floor is extremely fun! I know I will be a cardiac expert one day, but I am trying really hard to keep my options open.
A little side note: 3 of our patients said I was going to be a great nurse one day and that I was doing a great job. My favorite patient from yesterday was this adorable 98 year old man who wanted so badly to get up and walk up and down the halls on his walker but PT never got around to bringing him a walker. While I was giving his medications via his IV, he made a wincing noise and scrunched his face up real tight. I immediately stopped and was apologizing all over the place for hurting him..... then he looked over at me and had a huge smile on his face!! He simply said, "I'm just kidding. You did a wonderful job taking care of me and it was my absolute pleasure to be your guinea pig"....... What a sweetheart! He really made my day even better :)
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