Day 14: So Thursday was my first day in the hospital actually working with patients. Technically I had one patient assigned to me, but I was suppose to help out where ever I could and when ever my clinical instructor told me too. My first patient (and I thank her from the bottom of my heart for allowing me to use her as my first patient) was so sweet and so easy!! I cannot give out too much information about her because it would violate HIPAA, but she was a little older than me and had a chronic condition that occasionaly caused her problems, which was why she was in the hospital. I was so scared when I walked into her room that morning. Indy was my back-up and I was hers. I think I was shaking a little and all I was doing was vitals!! I introduced myself and told her I was a student. She asked me if I really wanted to talk her vitals since the nurse just did it, but I told her I had to. So she stuck out her arm and opened her mouth. She was so compliant I was shocked. So I just dove right in and got her vitals. She said thank you and asked if I needed anything else. I told her no and asked her if she needed anything. She said later she would want a change in linens and maybe some help cleaning up.
When I left the room I realized I didn't breathe through the whole thing. I realized I made it through the first big hurdle...just walking into a patients room! We walked into Indy's patient's room and it was a bit different. The woman was in some serious pain and the nurse was late getting her pain medicine. We helped her get a cool cloth for her head, took her vitals, and she thought if maybe she got up out of bed and brushed her teeth and had a change of linen she might feel better. So while Indy was helping her brush her teeth I got everything we needed to change the bed linens. When we got everything done, we helped her back to bed, she said she felt a bit better...brushing your teeth does amazing things to your pain tolerance.
After we did our intial duties with our patients (I let mine sleep a bit longer) we spent some time trying to figure out the ridiculous computer system. This is where we have to get all of the information for the ridiculous amount of paperwork we had to do. We also did a lot of standing around and doing nothing...because we really couldn't do anything. We were surrounded by some pretty unpleasant nurses. One in particular Indy and I had a run in with, and it turned out the next day she had bitched about us and the work we did for her to the charge nurse (BIG woman from the East Coast and had an EAST COAST attitude.) Well she in turn bit the head off our clinical instructor Prof Papa, and the next day she told us about it. We explained the situation to her. The Mean Nurse had asked us to take vitals for her entire row of patients because she didn't have time to do it. Well we figured there was no problem there since we knew how to take vitals and it was the end of our shift...so we did it. Well we missed doing resps...everyone had blankets on so we just didn't think about doing it, and two of her patients where NPO (which means they cannot take anything orally) so we assumed (since this is what we were taught in lab) since they were NPO we couldn't take their temperature orally and we had no idea where a different thermomater was, so we just wrote NPO and assumed the nurse would take care of it. Well apparently not. Prof Papa told us not to do anything any of the nurses ask us to do unless they go through her first. I don't think she was really mad at us (I was angry and disappointed with myself), but she just wanted to give us a heads up.
After I let my patient sleep a bit longer, and the nurse had to change her IV site...it was leaking, the nurse showed us a neat trick to monitor a leaking IV, I got to practice more of my skills! I gave my patient a complete bed bath!! She told me how the CNA did it the day before and I told her that I learned to do it a different way if she didn't mind if I did it the way I learned. She told me by all means do it the way I learned. She was excited to help me learn! It was great! I washed her hair, helped her to the bathroom so she could do "other" things. I changed her bed linen. Indy helped me with everything. I was so greatful she was there to help me. It was a GREAT first day...with the execption of the mean nurse. I was tired when I came home I slept for five hours and then studied my buns off.
So no one threw up on me on the first day and I did not have to change a bed pan, but Prof Papa spilled a whole cup of hot coffee down the right side of me before we started work...so I had to wear a lab coat all day since I didn't have an extra pair of scrubs in the car. And I walked into a room that required droplet protection (mask, gloves, gown) didn't even notice the sign posted on the side of the door...so I freaked out, but I found out it wasn't that serious. I need to pay more attention.
Day 15
Started off weird...my patient from the day before had been discharged so I had to wait for a new patient. That is when Indy and I found out about our little mishap. That kind of put a damper on my day. My new patient turned out to be considered something called a "legal 2000." I guess in the state of NV that means a mental health patient. I also found out that patients wearing a certain color gown are suicide risks. That was a bit disturbing for me. When I went to take my patient's vitals there was a mean little man in the room that was his "sitter" and he was there for my patient's roomate too. He gave me dirty looks every time I entered the room and told me there was nothing I needed to do for my patient. So I took his vitals anyway...it was then that I realized that feelings I thought I had for people like my patient were not really gone...just burried. If anyone knows the history of my mother, they will know what I am talking about. I had no sympathy for the man...maybe the tiniest drop of pity. As a nurse I know I am suppose to set biases like that aside and do my job. My feelings didn't prevent me from doing my job the way I would do it with anyone else, but at the end of the day I felt a bit broken. How do you overcome a bias that is so deeply ingrained into your brain and soul and so very personal? I tried to built a repore with the man, but I just wasn't feeling like he was being receptive, maybe it was my own reflection. Maybe his mean "sitter" was preventing him from being social or maybe he just gave up on life and didn't care that someone was there trying to learn and reach out.
Since there wasn't much I could do with my patient, we focused on Indy's patient. Same lady...we helped her clean up and provided her with some conversation until she had to go for some tests. We offered our services to my nurse and Indy's nurse (we asked if that was ok). But nothing. So we worked on our paperwork until noon vitals and that was the end of day two.
I worked an afternoon shift at the school and studied some more. My tests are next week and I feel slightly unprepared for them, but Jeremy keeps telling me I will do great. I wish I had the faith in myself that he has in me. He's been so great the past few weeks. He's let me cry on his shoulder, given me space and quiet to study, cooked dinner, he even hired a housekeeper for me. On my first day of clinical he got me a sweet card about how much he loves me. I am tearing up right now just thinking about how supportive he has been! Thanks honey!! Keep up the good work! Its really helping me! :)
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