coventrysleeps

I am a part-time clinical instructor, and my students are finishing their final clinical rotations and getting ready to head into preceptorships, and then to apply to residency programs in our city. I have one student who is extremely book-smart, but a little socially awkward, and has a significant amount of anxiety. She is incredibly compassionate with her patients and spends good quality time taking care of them (and they love her), but she struggles with time management as it takes her a very long time to complete tasks such as passing meds or dressing changes. She is an extremely concrete thinker and sometimes struggles to recognize humor. She is looking for direction in the nursing world. Where will she fit in? (for example, she knows that critical care will only stress her out, so ED/ICU/cath lab/&tc are out.) Where will her unique blend of skills and challenges best serve her patients, but also allow her to thrive? Grateful for suggestions! Stay warm out there!

Hello everyone! My name is Martha and I am a BSN nursing student who will graduate in May. I am doing my last clinical rotation at a public health department that makes home visits (it feels like a luxury! it's awesome!). I am working with a very experienced RN on a very complex case. The mom is 38, bipolar (on lithium), has MS (is on meds for that), but has recently lost about 30 lbs in about 4 weeks because she has stopped eating. She was hospitalized when she was 19 for anorexia, but claims that has not been an issue recently, and was a normal weight before her daughters were born. Her daughters -- twin girls born 11 weeks early in September due to an abrupted placenta. One girl has a hole in her heart and is small but healthy, but the other one had a beta strep pneumonia, hydrocephaly, and now has a shunt and is profoundly deaf. Mom is stressed out beyond all belief, and there are other economic and family factors that play into this. At the health department here, we are concerned with Mom b/c the girls are being closely followed. My question is: We MUST get Mom to start caring for herself again, e.g., eating. How do I encourage someone with unbelieveable life stress to start putting food in their mouth when it's the last thing she wants to do? Thanks for any help -- PLEASE let me know if I've posted this in the wrong forum, and I will move it immediately -- I'm new to this! I can also provide more specific details regarding the case (not personal details) if requested.