Just woke...

...from a 3 hour catch-up nap. I've had a yucky, stressful week and my body is telling me. Just had to take some Protonix for some gastritis that I have now and then that really hurts.

Went to my clinical site at 4PM on Tues and got my patient. Researched for 2 hours and had my database all done--went to get the MAR and the nurse stopped me to say my patient was just told they would be discharged in the morning. Paged my instructor and she gave me a new patient. Spent two more hours researching them, and then 8 hours in required paperwork at home, only to walk into the hospital Wens afternoon to catch sight of the NEW patient being discharged...

My instructor is SOOOOOO awesome--she gave me another patient but didn't require me to write up a new set of paperwork--which is unheard of. Instead, she assigned me to another patient with a similar dx and I worked with them all day.

But this STILL really threw me. I feel like I did everything wrong all day long--didn't know how to run the new-to-me equipment and I didn't know where anything was at on the floor. Combine that with not knowing my patient fully and I was a wreck. I spent the whole day sweating in contact and droplet isolation trying to figure out what to do "next." I was unorganized from the start and was in a foul mood. My classmates were all be-bopping around, happy with what they were learning, and I was trying to just hang on.

So, now I know the true value of paperwork. Because I don't have the education and experience to know what to do, the paperwork is the backbone to what I am learning. It helps me mentally wrap my head around what I will be doing in terms of care when I interact with my patients and help me understand their medical diagnosis so that I can help them effectively.

My patient had asthma/pneumonia/FluA/dehydration on Wens and it was so weird to not KNOW what I was dealing with because I hadn't written a patho on any of it or looked up any info. It was good to see that I could narrow down the fact that he would have impaired respiratory function and I knew what to do for that--and thankfully I didn't have a more complex patient. I was writing mental care plans all day--a good thing!! I guess I am retaining something!

Made me realize how much I DO NOT know, how much I am learning, and that even crappy days teach me loads of stuff. I think my organization will be better next week and I have a better attitude about all the prep work I have to do.

Also met an especially snotty tech who "already finished all my pre-reqs for school, but I decided I don't want to wipe butts for the rest of my life, so I went into dental assisting." She proceeded to tell me that I could kill someone if a doc messes up a an RX and I don't catch it. Yeah, I know that, honey. Trust me, it scares the poo out of me daily and I have been taught to check myself, the med, etc etc over, and over and over BEFORE giving it. She was thoroughly unimpressed by us students and let us know by her actions and words. ("Oh, you guys are JUNIORS? I thought you would have done more and would know more by now." Geez. Thanks.)

So, I am on antibiotics for my respiratory goo, and Protonix for my GI goo, and I hope next week goes more smoothly. I did receive some happy feedback from my clinical instructor, who wrote that I have "excellent critical thinking skills" on my eval and gave me a great set of marks. The point is to get through this, right? 3 more weeks of PEDS! Woohoo...


(Comic strip from Nursetoons!)