A Busy Busy Clinical Day

Clinical Day # 3 . . . .

So today was an interesting day. I had a patient assigned to me that was completely dependent on nursing care. My instructor wanted us to take complete care of our patients and give medications with IV care. I was completely overwhelmed. . . .I needed some encouragement at that point. Thank you Jesus for a boost of energy! :D

So to paint a little picture . . . my patient admitted to the medical-surgical floor for wound care and recovery from her surgery in February. She is very obese with multiple wounds (I won't go in detail). She has a wound vac (system used to drain wounds) and has Diabetes. Along with a crazy list of medications, she had a tracheostomy and a central line (IV line which goes straight to the veins near the heart) which I couldn't provide care on because I didn't know how. So here I was with a patient completely dependent on me and I couldn't practice any of my nursing skills. My nurse was overwhelmed as well, even with my help.

Feeling optimistic, I helped out when I could and tried to stay out of my nurse's way. But ohhh my goodness did I get to see a lot!!! This makes me look like a complete nerd but I was so into the wounds. I was constantly asking questions and curious about the care and how she got them. My nurse was nice enough to let me dress some of the wounds . . . Yay! :)

My nurse had another patient who was in isolation with severe wounds. She had previously fired a few nurses and has been as the charge nurse would say "difficult." She disconntected her IV and walked out of isolation in the hall. There was some hostility and scares going on. Luckily, everything came back to normal. We were just worried about her condition and the other patients that could have been involved with her isolation precautions.

Suddenly, a patient's wife came running out to me yelling that her husband couldn't breathe!!! scary!! So my fellow student and I ran to a nurse and they called the Rapid Response Team down from ICU to help with his breathing. He is stable now. . . Yay!! :) Talk about a rush!!

Something on my mind today . . . .

It is really sad for me to see some patients in these conditions. And even worse when they could have prevented their condition from getting worse. When I look at the big picture, that's my job. As a nurse providing patient teaching is a very important factor. Unfortunately, encouragement only goes so far. Some patients don't care to listen, so just taking care of their current condition becomes your priority. So many patients I have come in contact with, including today's, don't care about recovering or about their condition. For patients who don't care about their condition or about getting better, all you can do is tend to their needs and hope for a fast recovery. You become a nurse who gets the patient through life day by day instead of improving the quality of life. We do what's best for the patient and what they ask of us.

If only ALL patients could see that we are here to help them to get out of the hospital; not because we don't care for them while they are here, but because we want them to be out LIVING!!!

Ok now on to Clinical day # 4. . . . .