A peek into a day of my nursing clinicals:) Note: the ER is now referred to as the ED- Emergency Department Weekly Journal Nursing 172 Name: Kimberly St. John Week of: 9/7/13 I was happy I got to go to the ED. This was my third time, and I still love it! I gave a tetanus injection, tested a urine sample, cleaned a wound, bandaged a leg, took vitals, brought patients in from the waiting area, and assisted with an infant straight catheter. I also observed a spinal blood patch, and an earring back being taken out of a little girl’s nose. Those 2 procedures were intense! I also documented and assisted with a patient being discharged. There were 3 patients with bone fractures. One teenage boy who fell skateboarding and fractured his tibia, a man who fell roller skating and fractured his arm, and a little girl who was by far the quietest and most relaxed who broke both her ulna and radius bones. We were all surprised when her xrays came in, because by the way she was moving around and even eating normally, we thought it was was probably just a sprain. Never assume! There was also a kidney stone patient (I witnessed how painful that is-poor guy!), a man who had just been in a bad car accident, an allergic bee sting guy, and a little girl who had fallen off of bleachers at a football game. I brought her in, weighed her, and talked with her parents who told me she was very sleepy since the fall. So I sat the bed up to keep her upright and awake. I did some patient education. I talked to the kidney stone patient (17 year old male) and his parents about what can cause renal calculi. After talking, we all determined that between the hot weather, and both school and sports starting back up recently, the patient was not drinking enough water. He said he will be more conscious of it now. And the mother said she will make sure to send him to school with water bottles. There was also a teenage girl who came in with severe strep throat. As I was giving ice packs to patients, I decided to give her one too, along with a washcloth to place on her throat. She said it really helped. The power of ice! Describe your strengths this week. I jumped in and helped with as much as I could as soon as I entered the ED. Prioritizing is extremely important in the ED. In order to prioritize, assessment is crucial. I think the pace of the ED helps me quickly assess what each patient’s physiological condition is. Then, I can determine nursing diagnoses and the most important nursing interventions to be carried out immediately. When I had a free moment here and there, I brought fresh ice packs to patients, especially for the bone fractures, and they really appreciated that. I also talked with some of the staff for a moment here and there. The doctors were very nice to let me observe and explain procedures they were doing. I also met a young lady who is a med student. She was doing an ultrasound on a patient to check for internal bleeding, so she let me observe that while she explained it. Describe areas that need improvement and your plan to address these areas. When I was cleaning a wound, I was doing so very gently, so I wouldn’t hurt the patient. But the nurse observing me and even the patient told me I could scrub harder. I need to think more about cleaning wounds thoroughly to prevent infection, rather than worrying about being gentle.
Posted on: Sat, 14 Sep 2013 04:56:08 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015