Some of this may seem common sense, but I learned the hard way
1. Anytime your patient has any vital sign outside of the norm immediately
relay this information to the primary nurse. If you can't find her. Call her phone.
2. Don't ever touch a pill. Find a way to split w/o touching. Your instructor
may be different, but we weren't to touch even while wearing gloves.
3. Know your meds. Make sure to look them up, know how they work and if
it will affect the patient's blood pressure you better have that value handy when
getting ready to give it.
4. Put on those gloves. Do touch anything w/o those gloves on. One in our group
grabbed the urinal w/o them and got a U.
5. Make sure you are aware of the indicator for contact precautions. At our facility it was on the door. A girl in our grp walked in the doorway to take shift change report and got a U. Do not take your stethoscope or paperwork in the room. We would put ours in the breakroom.
6. When you go for orientation on the unit. Get a map or make your own. Very important
where the soiled utility, clean utility, linens, etc. are located. My instructor would give NI's for not knowing the unit.
7. If your patient has a mastectomy or shunt. Do not take Blood Pressure reading on that side. There will usually be signs on the door or above the patient's bed. Make sure to look.
8. When changing bed linens make sure you have a trash or laundry bag in room to put the dirty linens in. Don't put on floor, Don't hold near body.
9. Saline flushes should be disposed of in the biohazard receptacle. You can squirt any remaining fluid since the hosp does get charged by the pound. I was told that housekeeping may mistake them as needles.
10. Get help with bathing total care patients. Don't try to do it alone.
11. Do not hang anything attached to the patient to a side rail. Hang it on the framing of the bed. (Foley Cath)
12. When transporting a patient in a wheelchair, always back into door ways elevators as to not knock the patients feet or legs.
Right now I can't think of anything else. But would love to hear anything that you learned in clinical or that you heard someone getting a bad mark for doing.
