what did you gain from your first med surg?

[AngelofSeduction]

i want to hear some people's opinions and experiences because i feel like i'm the only one who's not getting anything out of it.so we do the routine looking up information on our patient the night before.this week i had a patient with urosepsis( he has a history of recurrent uti,BPH, HTN, chronic bladder) so when i saw him they had took his foly\ey off so all i did that day was try to find some info as to what brought him to the hospital and his past medical histories.from the time being with him i did not notice anything wrong. i asked him if he was in pain,took VS and everything was good.i did the same thing following day gave meds,assessed for pain and nothing wrong except that i noticed he had some sores in his mouth might be due to antibiotics he was on for his uti but other than that he looks fine and i also noticed that his gait is unsteady when i took him for a walk. i'm supposed to do a self evaluation on how the day went and how i applied nursing theory,psychomotor skills,critical thinking and come up with a care plan and i have no clue where to begin. i don't feel i did much. so can anyone give me some advice as to how i should approach clinicals instead of doing the usual AM care and do assessments. Also i did some teaching, i told him that since he has high blood pressure and diabetic he should watch what he eats and exercise

[RKpianoman, APRN]

For most people, the first clinical is all about losing your sense of "personal space", becoming comfortable asking personal question, getting better at talking to patients without talking in circles, learning how hospitals operate, and just getting a basic feel for nursing and really solidifying your assessment skills. It's frustratingly boring at times, but it's for a good reason; not all students start out with the same level of skill or confidence.

Report things like the mouth sores and unsteadiness to the RN if you haven't seen it noted in his chart/nursing notes. Be specific in your teaching and include step by step directions on a third grade level to all patients.

It sounds like you're off to a good start, and probably a step ahead of most of your fellow students if you're feeling like you described in your post. I always like to find time to just sit and talk to my patients, get to know them, and let them know I care. Keep an eye out for opportunities to help with other patients; your instructor may be willing to let you insert/DC foleys, do dressing changes, or watch procedures done on patients other than your assigned patient if you're lucky.

Good luck and try to be patient (it's hard), it gets better quick!

[butterfly134]

Basically I put a lot of what I learned in the classroom into practice. I got to take and record vital signs, gave my first sub cut injection (was SO proud of myself), also gave bed baths, fed patients, observed bandages being applied. I also greatly improved my communication skills. On first clinicals you are exposed to the hospital environment. I basically got to see the life of a nurse in hospital on a typical day. Observed handovers being done, got to put my manual handling skills into practice. Learned about the different type of bins, perfected my hand washing technique. These all may seem like basic things but improving ones basic skills makes someone a better nurse, well thats in my opininon :)