Had a Great Experience Today

[LovingLearning]

Tuesday and Wednesday are our clinical days. I'm still very stressed at what happened last week, but decided that just going about my business of learning and being a student nurse was what I was going to do...

We choose our own patients. So Monday came, and I went to the hospital, and selected an isolation patient who is very, very sick. I'm not going to get into his dx's because of HIPPA, but he had multiple issues, all of which could be fatal unto themselves. But he presented a great opportunity to learn, and he was nice, so I took him.

Developed great rapport with him yesterday, and did some rote stuff like change linens and whatnot. All his meds were IV, so I couldn't admin them, but sat in iso and chatted with him a lot; made him feel more comfortable, and accepted. I felt great. More importantly, *he* felt great, too...sick as all heck, but great. I left as scheduled, with him still waiting to get taken to xray.

Today, I find out that xray came to him. He's too sick to bring out into general population, so they brought it to him. I thought that was pretty neat. Then, later, after giving some meds through his NG tube (crushed and mixed with water), the Dr. comes in. Except it wasn't his regular Dr., it was a Dr pushing a machine. I was surprised, and asked what was going on...and found out my patient was getting a PICC line. After the regular RN suctioned his trache, I stayed in the room to 'assist' the Dr with the PICC. I say 'assist' because I was doing absolutely nothing other than watching...and what a time it was. The only thing I did was keep my patient calm(er) until the morphine took effect, and helped the Dr. maintain a sterile field and hold the lido bottle so he could fill it.

After all that, all I did was observe. The Dr was fantastic...not only explained to the pt what was going to happen, but brought me over to the machine and let me watch, and identify veins and arteries and see the magnetic thingy pop green targets. I was fascinated...and my patient was in hysterics. He said he'd never had a procedure that was so fascinating to the nurse, student or not...and never had a nurse cheer the Dr for hitting the target. LOL, we were all in there laughing, and my instructor came in to see what the hoopla was about. She just shook her head...

I am sort of sad, because my patient is very, very sick...but also really glad that I got to see this procedure. What a fascinating thing...and how cool it was to see. And how generous of both my patient and the Dr were to let me stay in there and learn from them both.

Wayyyy too good of a day. I just wanted to share how fun it was today. Now, time to go finish a reasearch paper and study for a pharm exam tomorrow morning...the beat does, of course, go on...

Best-

Lovin Learning

[caliotter3]

Enjoy your positive experience. There are too many opportunities for negative experiences to bring down your morale. It is the positive day that can carry you through the others and then there you are! School is over and you are getting ready for your first job!

[queenzeus]

I hope when I get to clinicals I have a day like u. Good luck I hope u have more great days.

[matilda123]

Great job!!

So glad to see that you didn't let the *****'s keep you down!!

[LovingLearning]

Enjoy your positive experience. There are too many opportunities for negative experiences to bring down your morale. It is the positive day that can carry you through the others and then there you are! School is over and you are getting ready for your first job!

No kidding, eh? But it's times like these when I remember that it's not about my peers, but about the patient...and what is happening to them and how I can help them feel/get better. And that's what I'm here for, you know?

Queen said:

I hope when I get to clinicals I have a day like u. Good luck I hope u have more great days.

You will. WHile I've had horrible experiences in school, the good ones, like this, will come through as well.

Matilda said:

Great job!!

So glad to see that you didn't let the *****'s keep you down!!

Nope...and while I'll admit to taking the iso patient so I could 'stay away' from my fellow students, it's nice to be able to say 'I got to see a PICC line inserted' and have the other students be envious...as well as a new nursing instructor tell me she's never seen one placed in in all her years. LOL.

My instructor, when she popped her head in, reminded me to follow my scope of practice...to which I replied 'is holding something for a Dr. not allowed?' She graciously blushed and said 'no, of course it's allowed...' I told her not to worry...when she left the room, my patient said 'she's your teacher? What a bat.' Both the Dr and I laughed...and then the Dr said 'no, you can't do the procedure this time. Next time, though...you can do the whole thing. And I won't tell the bat.' We all broke up laughing.

I have to say that I had fun with my patient. And when I look back at things, mostly I do have fun with them. I'm blessed to be able to find humor in pretty much everything (except people dying in front of me...), and can relate quickly or 'establish rapport' with my patients pretty fast. There's always something I can find to bring a smile to their faces; and once I can manage that, I find, it's ever so much easier to do the rest of things I need to do even if they're somewhat distasteful or painful to the patient...

I am glad I had a great day to sort of quiet the stormy head I've had since last week...I really am glad that I was reminded what it's really all about; not the peers not the gossip, it's the learning and the patients and the successes that we can manage which is what it's about.

And I gotta say it was a really really cool experience to watch a PICC line be inserted...waaaaaaaaayyyyyy cool.

Best-

Lovin' Learning

(and I really am loving learning right now...)