Ms. S.M. was a patient admitted for the management of renal failure. During morning rounds, we noticed her potassium levels to be elevated. She was asymptomatic and her EKG did not show any abnormal changes. As a team, we coordinated with each other and successfully managed her potassium levels. The hours spent to manage this patient helped me to understand the importance of clear communication and the dynamics of team work in a hospital setting. Though we managed her hyperkalemia, the patient was still facing an uncertain prognosis with her kidney disease. Her family members were worried about providing financial support for her care, which is a major problem in India. It made me wonder if there was anything more we could do for her. However, along with providing clinical care, establishing a relationship with her and her son gave me a sense of satisfaction. It made me realize the potential of developing long term relations with my patients in this field. I was also surprised to see a comatose patient gain consciousness after 35 days. As a part of a team caring for this comatose patient in the ICU, I was involved in monitoring his vital signs, airway, nutrition and urine output. I worked closely with other members of the health care team to maintain his physical health. Swithching him form oropharyngeal ventilation to cricothyrotomy for airway management was another challenging task caring for this patient. I built a good rapport with his family members as I communicated
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a worldwide problem that is currently three times higher for African Americans, Hispanics, Pacific Islanders, American Indians and seniors (The National Kidney Foundation, 2013). CKD occurs when the kidneys are damaged by a pathogen or injury and they can no longer adequately maintain proper levels of regulated chemicals in the bloodstream. There are many risk associated with CKD. According to the National Kidney Foundation, two of the major risks are Chronic Renal Failure (CRF) and Cardiovascular Disease. Currently twenty million American adults have CKD and millions of others are at increased risk. Age has no barrier on getting CKD. People with pre-existing health issues, and a part of certain population
Vital observations were carried out efficiently, they were recorded every 15 minutes and a cardiac monitor was attached to continuously monitor for any deterioration. As a student nurse I assisted by recording vital observations using NEWS and assessing consciousness by using the Glasgow coma scale to ensure there were no signs of brain trauma (Le Roux, Levine and Kofke, 2013). In line with the NMC, my mentor supervised and countersigned my observations (NMC, 2011b). I promoted good patient safety as deterioration would be recognised early and appropriate care provided. Throughout the treatment process I witnessed and provided person centred care. Nursing and medical staff continuously checked patient comfort and obtained consent for treatment being provided.
I shared my professional and personal experiences with colleagues. I also partook in health care team activities, where I established and maintained collaborative and productive working contacts with the health care team (Sibiya & Sibiya, 2014). From time to time I consulted with relevant service providers and medical experts identify personal needs as well as strive for improved professional performance
Grange’s first call in field internship was a call to a person unconscious. When he arrived he did not understand why the daughter was nonchalant about her mom’s state. I immediately thought that it could be a diabetic call, which was confirmed a little bit later in the story. While as an EMT my protocols allow me to give oral glucose, most of the time the patients are too altered to protect their airway so it is almost always a paramedic fix. The way patients go from unconscious or combative to basically normal in a matter of a few minutes has always amazed me, and it is a skill I am really looking forward to having in the future.
My educational fear in the past was during my first week off ICU orientation, I was assigned an admission from the ER of a post cardiac arrest middle aged patient who was placed on a therapeutic hypothermia. I verbalized to the Charge Nurse of being hesitant to accept the admission since I’m fresh off orientation. She told me “this would be a good experience for you”. I want to keep good positive impression to my colleague being a new nurse of my new unit and took on the mission to accept the assignment. After receiving a report, the unconscious patient arrived on our unit on a ventilator with hypothermic jacket and with multiple drips. My heart started to pound and said to myself “what am I getting into, transferring here in ICU is a mistake, and I just want to cry”. While being shaky, I took good long deep breaths. After the patient was situated the on the bed, I carried on the task according to the doctors’ orders and the protocols. I stayed in communication with my charge nurse for assistance, questions and moral support. I succeeded the patient care uneventfully on a 12 gruesome hours by working and collaborating with the charge nurse, the senior RNs as a
He felt that the facility had excellent teamwork compared to other locations he had previously visited. The patient shared stories of previous hospital visits, which demonstrated that he understood what good teamwork looked like and what bad teamwork looked like. He shared a story about a hospital in Texas that did not listen to him or his mother. During their time at this hospital they frequently told nurses and physicians that he was allergic to a certain type of medicine. However, due to their lack of care and attention, he became deathly sick as a result of their mistake in providing him the wrong medication. Throughout the story he said that that hospital “almost killed him and that they were idiots”. This example shows how important it is to listen to the patients and their caregivers, due to the fact that they provide valuable insight to a care team. In addition, they are the ones who determine the type of care they receive, so they must be well informed on the care team’s plans.
Each department works together to create a smooth streamline transition for every patient. The employees, from customer service to administration to physicians, work on the same level with one another and share in the passion of treating and healing their patients. The employees continue their focus of their patients to the patient’s family as well.
One of the first things that we learn about Enid is that she must be a good nurse. The first paragraph on page 31 is full of observations that a nurse would make. She notes the coloration of Mrs. Quinn’s urine, which is an indication of the condition of her failing kidneys. She also observes the smell of her patient’s breath and the stains on her body. These are all signs that give her some idea of how much time Mrs. Quinn has before dying as well as her mental state.
“Extensive research has shown that no matter how knowledgeable a clinician might be, if he or she is not able to open good communication with the patient, he or she may be of no help” (Asnani, MR. 2009). Effective communication plays a big role in healthcare and contributes to the quality of patient care and teamwork.
The purpose of this journal is to reflect on my experience and skills gained during my clinical placement at Ben Taub Hospital. On my first clinical day, I was excited and nervous at the same time. My first placement was in the PREOP/PACU area. I was assigned to help a patient who had been in the PACU area going on 2 days. Normally, once the patient comes from surgery they are only in the PACU area for a short period of time before they are discharged home or given a bed in another area of the hospital. This particular patient still had not received an assignment for a bed. The physicians would make their rounds to come check on him daily. The patient was a 28-year-old Hispanic male, non-English speaking, he had a hemicolectomy. He had a NG tube, urinary Foley catheter, and a wound vac. My preceptor had just clocked in and she needed to check on the patient’s vitals and notes from the previous nurse. Once she introduced me to the patient and explained while I was there, she then asked me to check his vitals. (Vital signs indicate the body’s ability to regulate body temperature, maintain blood flow, and oxygenate body tissues. Vital signs are important indicators of a client’s overall health status (Hogan, 2014). I froze for a quick second. I have practiced taking vitals numerous of times and I knew I could do it correctly. I started with the temperature first, when I was quickly corrected on a major mistake I had made by my preceptor. I HAD FORGOT TO WASH MY HANDS and PUT
Mrs. Ollis is always an exceptionally dedicated team-player, who gets along very well with her peers, superiors and subordinates all the time. She possesses extremely strong leadership and people skills. As a Critical Care Specialist, I have worked very closely with Mrs. Evgeniya Ollis at the Marymount Hospital, a Cleveland Clinic Foundation Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, for almost a year, especially in the clinical, patient-centered environment. I was therefore able to observe Evgeniya’s behavior, aptitude, personality, temperament, attitude and clinical skills, performance and judgment in several different clinical settings, repeatedly. In my assessment, she has excelled herself in virtually every type of clinical settings in her nursing capacity.
Acute renal failure, also known as acute kidney injury is described to be a rapid loss of
This is a reflective essay based on a event which took place in a hospital setting. The aim of this essay is to explore how members of the Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) worked together and communicate with each other to achieve the best patients outcome.
During the team formation, a number of challenges manifested. Firstly, it was the fact that there were nurses from other units. Hence, there were fears that they may not be well informed with procedures undertaken in our unit. However, this challenged was effectively addressed by assigning the nurses from other units a nurse from our unit to help her during the emergency period.
There is a pair of kidneys in the human body. They are situated towards the back of the body under the ribs, just at the level of the waist where one on either side of the body. Each kidney is composed of about one million units which are called nephrons and each nephron consists of two parts: a filter which is called the glomerulus and a tubule leading out from the nephron (Cameron 1999). According to Marshall and Bangert (2008) the kidneys have three major functions. Firstly, the kidneys are excretion of waste from plasma in the blood. The second function is that, they maintain of extracellular fluid volume and composition. Lastly, the kidneys have a role in hormone synthesis.