Today was a little uneventful but I did complete one of my personal goals to take initiative and actually do something. I was warned that Fridays aren't very busy and they are mostly full of discharges. That being said, I was able to do a lot today.
I assessed a patient that had patellar reconstructive surgery. I was able to help her with whatever she needed, including giving meds. I was able to chart my assessment. Honestly, it was an easy day, but I was able to feel some independence as I took over the care for this patient.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Clinical Day #1
Well, wasn't sure what to expect today... I was assigned to TOSH for my clinical, which primarily deals with orthopedic surgeries and such. My preceptor is Wendy and she told me that Tuesdays would be really busy. She was right. We started off with 4 patients and was given another later in the morning. Most were there because of TKAs. One was there with a BKA and another with bilateral hammertoes. I informed my nurse that I would follow her for a few hours to see what I was getting myself into and then I would kind of take over with a patient or two. Well, we spent most of the morning rushing around everyone's medications. Even if I did take over in the morning I would have needed a lot of help due to the amount of medications that we had to give our patients. A couple of the patients were difficult, but nothing too bad. I think the worst part was one patient covered herself, the floor, and the bathroom and toilet in feces. The PCA and I had to clean it up. Surprisingly I wasn't that grossed out. She kept apologizing and I just kept telling her it wasn't her fault and trying to make her feel less embarrassed.
I think the thing i learned a little today was about building a supporting and therapeutic relationship with the patients. I tried talking and opening up to them (which is a little hard for me) and just trying to build that trust that should be present between a patient and caregiver. by the end of the shift, I was running around taking care of who I could and doing what I could without the nurse's direct help. It was fun, but I will definitely take initiative next shift and do more instead of watching my nurse do everything.
I havn't made my goals yet, but I will have them done by next shift. I'm not too sure what they will be yet. One, of course, will be to be able to take on a full load of patients by myself, but i'm having trouble coming up with others. I know I want to learn more about the medications and which does what and so forth. I especially want to be reliable like my nurse was today when the patient asks what pain meds they can have or what they can take at that moment if they are feeling nauseous. I also want to get some charting done. I wasn't able to do any today because we fell so behind that my nurse just flew through the computer and did it herself. So those are a couple of ideas for some goals. We'll see how it goes next shift.
I think the thing i learned a little today was about building a supporting and therapeutic relationship with the patients. I tried talking and opening up to them (which is a little hard for me) and just trying to build that trust that should be present between a patient and caregiver. by the end of the shift, I was running around taking care of who I could and doing what I could without the nurse's direct help. It was fun, but I will definitely take initiative next shift and do more instead of watching my nurse do everything.
I havn't made my goals yet, but I will have them done by next shift. I'm not too sure what they will be yet. One, of course, will be to be able to take on a full load of patients by myself, but i'm having trouble coming up with others. I know I want to learn more about the medications and which does what and so forth. I especially want to be reliable like my nurse was today when the patient asks what pain meds they can have or what they can take at that moment if they are feeling nauseous. I also want to get some charting done. I wasn't able to do any today because we fell so behind that my nurse just flew through the computer and did it herself. So those are a couple of ideas for some goals. We'll see how it goes next shift.
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