farewell to PICU

My best advice holds for any situation... make good use of your best resources. PARENTS!! They know the child and how to "work" them. They also will probably hang around and can do a lot of basic care so that you can concentrate on the more complex.

In terms of organization, make yourself a schedule. There are several ways you can do it. One is to divide a sheet of paper into the same number of boxes as there are hours in your shift, then write in any interventions you have for that hour and the patient's name or bed number. Check them off as you do them. If you write meds in red, let's say, then you'll be able to see at a glance that at 1200 you have four meds due for three patients. Prepare them and label them clearly, maybe put the meds in plastic bags to keep them separate. Follow the five rights. Try and chart as you go, but if you can't you can then use the back of your sheet to take notes to use as a reminder for your charting later. On that side of the paper you could divide it into the number of kids you have, write in any pertinent info (weight, allergies, diet, precautions, vital sign abnormalities etc) that you've pulled from report and the Kardex. Put your vitals in the correct boxes and you'll be able to remember other things related to the assessment.

It will be a bit of an adjustment but I know you can do it. It's not that hard, and you'll get into a routine that works for you and your patients fairly quickly.

And as Kim said, have fun! This kind of opportunity doesn't come around every day. Take tons of pictures, sample the local culture, try some new foods, and pick up some meaningful souvenirs. Oh, and keep in touch!!!!!!