The good, the bad, the ugly - your first real patient contact

[RainbowDash]

I feel nursing is my "calling" for a few reasons, some practical, some very deeply personal. However, this does not stop me from having apprehensions about walking into the room of a person I don't know from Adam and checking out their private bits! I know I will get used to it, but I'd like to hear your stories of your first day of true patient contact - how did it go? Did you flake out and run away crying? Any major mistakes? General uncomfortable awkwardness? Or did you handle it like a pro?

I'm hoping for the latter, but we won't know til it happens, so for now I'll be content hearing some of your experiences!

Thanks for reading!

-RD

[BellasMommyOBRN]

I remember my first time with patients contact (in nursing school) was soo akward! It felt really unnatural lol It took a while for me to feel comfortable. I even felt nervous about patient contact when I started my first job as a nurse....it takes CONSTANT exposure.It's second nature to me now :)

[RainbowDash]

I remember my first time with patients contact (in nursing school) was soo akward! It felt really unnatural lol It took a while for me to feel comfortable. I even felt nervous about patient contact when I started my first job as a nurse....it takes CONSTANT exposure.It's second nature to me now :)

Thanks for that :) I know I have it in me, I even stop strangers in stores that look lost and help them find things, and am naturally gregarious and make conversation with everyone I encounter (store clerks, waitresses, school staff etc). I am just worried that I will get one look at a butt that isn't mine or my kids and get tongue tied LOL... I know I can do it, but there may be bumps on this road!

[LCinTraining]

My first contact with a patient was as a ride along for our local EMS unit. I eventually obtained my EMT but all I knew was that I just had a biology lab on blood pressures and racticed them in lab. Patient was obese, and they threw a small cuff at me. I could not get a blood pressure for the life of me. Heck, it would not even stay on! I was shaking I felt like such a failure. The instructor did a forearm bp and all was well, but I always keep that feeling of stupidity as a reminder that I do not know everything, when my ego btw big.

[Abigail612]

My first patient experience was when I was in clinicals as a CNA, I went to wash a man (first time washing a guy) lets call him Tim (not his name) I was alone because the CNA who was assigned to me was finishing up another patient. I helped washed the guys upper half, everything was going fine, I had him pull down his pants to do his as you call it "private bits", and I could not believe it his scrotum was larger than a grapefruit!! At that moment the CNA knocked and i politely excused myself behind the privacy currtain as she walked in and I wispered "OH MY GOSH!!!!" My CNA smiled and said your doning Tim aren't you.

[veggie530]

2:1 student to patient ratio. Designated my partner to be the one to retrieve supplies for the bed bath (iso room) and forgetting stuff, not knowing where supplies were, etc. led to a bed bath that lasted like nearly 2 hours. partly because of the patient needing breaks from COPD, but still.

[ER(notso)n00b, ASN, RN]

My first patient in clinicals died just as I got to the floor and I was responsible for removing the foley catheter and doing the post-mortem care. I was nervous, but I did everything without flubbing any of it. It probably helps that I wasn't too worried about embarrassing myself, since the patient wouldn't notice. The patients who require "intimate" care are usually used to it by the time you get to them, so it's not as embarrassing for them as you might think. Confidence goes a long ways when you're uncomfortable, and if you don't feel very confident you just have to fake it!

[OB-nurse2013, BSN, RN]

Well its hard to remember my first patient but I do remember my first clinical day and we kind of went around and were assigned to a nurse and then did a lot of the basic care for their patients, kind of worked as their CNA almost. I did a bed bath on a male pt that was very, very sick and actually died that week before our next clinical. I guess that was one of teh first. What surprised me was that it was a little akward teh first few times walking in and you have to kind of be assertive and it was weird for me becuase in life Im pretty assertive and not too shy but for some reason I was. I also agree about faking confidence, it does work because teh pt. is more comfortable then too and you get confidence as you go believe me. I was surprised to how interestign wound care is. I used get a little grossed out by the pictures of bad wounds but when it was on a real person it was so different to me and not gross at all. We had teh oppurtunity to almost see the progression of healing becuase pt.'s were on our floor for so long so you ccould see it healing and getting smaller week to week, very cool. This was all my first clinical. My 2nd med surg was a little similar. Psych was my least favorite and I thought Ild love it but it was very uncomfortable, hard, and sad to me. OB I loved, got to assist with many deliveries and other stuff. Clinicals are what you make them, you can be very proactive and learn a lot or you can be teh opposite and not learn as much its up to you :)

[RainbowDash]

I think I am going to take the "easy" way out and just use my imagination to place every patient I ever care for in my family, eliminating awkwardness and possible shyness. I will simply act as if you are my aunt, uncle, cousin, grandma, child, mailman, WHOEVER - someone I know well - and get on with it. Seems like a good tactic to me... LOL... time will tell =x

[alovelymother]

I think I am going to take the "easy" way out and just use my imagination to place every patient I ever care for in my family, eliminating awkwardness and possible shyness. I will simply act as if you are my aunt, uncle, cousin, grandma, child, mailman, WHOEVER - someone I know well - and get on with it. Seems like a good tactic to me... LOL... time will tell =x

That will probably go well until something goes wrong. Then you may have trouble detaching yourself from the patient.

[Lynx25, LPN]

My first patient during clinicals was in an ICU burn unit. It was very intense, very overwhelming. Shyness, awkwardness was not an issue as it was a very large teaching hospital and there are many students, AND the man was very heavily sedated. (Just how I like em!)

However, I did feel rather awkward when I realized I did not even know what race he was until the third day. Didn't change anything, just was an indication of how bad his injuries were.

[eleectrosaurus]

2:1 student to patient ratio. Designated my partner to be the one to retrieve supplies for the bed bath (iso room) and forgetting stuff, not knowing where supplies were, etc. led to a bed bath that lasted like nearly 2 hours. partly because of the patient needing breaks from COPD, but still.

What a patient patient!! I had to LOL, i can picture 2 newbies inadvertently terrorizing the poor copder. just teasing, i'm sure i would have done the same.