Blu rose

I am starting my pre-grad in two days and I feel exactly like you do even before starting it. I feel incompetent. I am afraid of making mistakes...I have not made one in my previous clinical experiences. However, considering that in pre-grad I will have to work for six days a week, chances of making mistakes is higher. I dread the very thought of it. I agree with the comment above. I believe that I need to be more confident, so that I can overcome the fear of making mistakes. This will help me be more independent rather than looking for someone to confirm that whatever I'm doing is correct. I am glad I read your post at the right time. I needed to know that I was not alone and also, needed a dose of optimism which the comments gave me. I hope all of us turn out to be fantastic nurses because I know that we're working hard to be so! :)

It makes sense. I was thinking that eventhough cardiovascular assessment is a priority in this case, your first intervention will be to administer oxygen and then, get an order to start an IV, right? Thank you, xtxrn :)

It's not like I did not go through my books. The thing is that either the list of nursing problems is not complete in the books (I have two medical-surgical books) or weakness is simply not an acceptable NANDA nursing diagnosis. I don't think that it was a bad idea to look for help online. Thanks, anyways :)

I am sorry for my late reply. I did try to look in NANDA online but, they need you to pay for the registration, so, I didn't see it :$ I have a list of nursing diagnoses but, I don't think it's complete. Thanks.

Thanks for the suggestion :) We don't have NCLEX in Canada, though

Well, the potassium level is low- 2.9 mEq/L and I don't have the reading for oxygen saturation on the scenario (I would get it first if it was a real patient). Whatever you said makes perfect sense. I appreciate your help.

I agree that the data given is insufficient. If this was a 'real' patient, I would get more lab work but, with a scenario written on a piece of paper, you can just make assumptions. Oh, how come I didn't tell that the potassium level was 2.9 mEq/L :/ I didn't get this scenario on the test but, of course, the comments helped me think better. I passed the test! Thanks a lot :redbeathe

I agree! Thanks for your input :)

Hi, I am having trouble figuring out which one would be the priority assessment for a patient with eating disorders and having shortness of breath + hypokalemia. Would it be respiratory? I thought I would get the oxygen saturation and see if the person needs oxygen adminstration. But, then, he has hypokalemia as well. It can lead to dysrhythmia. (I don't have the blood pressure readings because it was not provided on the case scenario). Getting more confused..could it be neurological since hypokalemia can hinder with the Na-K pumps in the brain and something may go wrong with the patient's LOC? Forgot to mention that the patient had a fainting episode too. I have a huge physical assessment test tomorrow and I'm freaking out! Any timely help will be appreciated! =)

The blood pressure is 189/68. What body system do you think is affected? Which nursing diagnosis from NANDA can fit it? You could actually get more information through a physical assessment. Is the data provided by you from a real patient or is it just an assignment scenario you got?

In this case, weakness is definitley a problem for the patient as it results in difficulty walking. Just to clarify myself, I was wondering if weakness is listed under NANDA as a nursing problem or diagnosis. Anyway, thank you for your comment =)

I listen to music (well, even while studying) and sleep (I miss sleeping peacefully like before starting nursing school)

Hi allnurses, Could anyone please tell me if 'weakness' is a nursing problem? I have a patient with weakness in lower extremities. So, I guess it goes under both 'activity and rest' and neurological assessment (since the patient had anoxic brain injury). I've put ataxia and dysarthria under activity and rest with 'impaired physical mobility' as the nursing problem. I was wondering if I can put the same data under neurolgical function and put 'weakness' as the problem. Sorry for typos, if any. I'm typing in a hurry. Thanks.

Last semster, my clinical instructor got sick so, we didn't go to the clinical. She gave us some make up assignments instead. She gave us many scenarios with loads of information about the patient and asked us to write many mini care plans for the patients. Well, I don't know how will your students learn and practice new things though. Maybe find a classroom and do assessments on each other? :/

I think you did the right think because patient safety is a nurse's top priority.