I've been asked to start the WILTW thread, and I'm more than happy to!
This has been an exciting week for me, as it was the last week of my Med/Surg I rotation. I'm trying not to feel too relieved though, because finals are next week. That being said, I will still absolutely squeeze in time to catch up on GOT.
This week I learned:
That my clinical instructor is a big ole softy. I can't believe that I thought she was super scary when the rotation first started.
That having just one year left of nursing school doesn't feel like enough time. Don't get me wrong, I feel like I've learned a ton in the one year of school I've had (and I'm more than ready to graduate so that I can get my social life back), but when I think of just how much I still don't know, I get a little worried.
That I wish I could take some patients home with me. Throughout clinical, I had nice patients, but none that really lingered in my thoughts when I went home for the day. But last week I had a patient who had already been through so much. His whole family had already been through so much. Sometimes it's hard to know just what to say, and I hope I was more helpful than I felt I was.
That I'm probably going to have a lifetime of telling family members, I'm not a doctor. You really need to talk to your doctor about that. I will probably NEVER be able to diagnose you.â€
I've also learned that said family members, when you actually do give them advice (such as dietary advice), will say Oh, you're just regurgitating what you've learned in school,†and will continue to eat everything under the sun while wondering why their blood pressure isn't controlled. Why yes, I am telling you what I've learned in school, but apparently you'd rather hear that steak for every meal paired with a margarita is the best possible chance for survival.
That being said, I do follow the steak and margarita diet. But hey, I'm working on it.
That the best way to get a resident to like you is to empathize. Let them vent. Losing my independence is something I can hardly fathom, and I'm sure I wouldn't handle it with grace. (Like, really I'm very certain that I'll be the LOL trying to escape everyday and falling out of my wheel chair in an attempt to lunge out the door). It's ok to let residents feel angry about it. It's ok let them know that, yes, it does suck, and that you'll be right around the corner when they're ready for help.
But it's not ok if they scratch you. Or bite you. Oh swear at you. We still need some limits.
That I will never ever forget to do an oral assessment on my patients. This is the second time I've shined a penlight in there and found a massive case of oral thrush.
On that note, I'm also very glad I'm not a dentist or dental hygienist. I'll wipe all the butts in the world, but don't bring that mouth any closer to me.
But what's grosser than the grossest mouth? Maggots. I was not pleased to learn that maggots are still being used for wound debridement. That...is my limit.
