My First Clinical Rotation Of Nursing School

One notable hospital experience that is still on my mind deals with a woman in her 80s, who had been admitted for a few days. The unit secretary informed me of this story. While she was hospitalized, her family came to visit her everyday, and one of those nights the patient asked

For my seventh clinical shift at the Loma Linda Veterans Affairs Medical Center, my assigned preceptor Filipina Gumangan assigned me three patients on the 4NW unit. The unit where I precept is an intensive care step down unit. Filipina’s objective for giving me three patients this shift was to give me an opportunity to continue exercising my time management skills and to practice my reporting and charting skills, and wound care. This shift I was responsible for many clinical duties corresponding to the care of these patients. My patients this shift were Mr. B, a 72 year-old Vietnam War veteran newly diagnosed with colon cancer, Mr. S, a 65 year-old Vietnam War veteran in the hospital for complicated urinary tract infection, Mr. R, a 90 year-old Korean and Vietnam War veteran. Caring for these patients taught me more about the humanbecoming perspective of nursing and showed me about multidisciplinary coordination with peers, colleagues, and more.

The following essay is a reflective account on an event that I, a student nurse encountered whilst on my first clinical placement in my first year of study. The event took place in a nursing home. All names have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the patient (NMC, 2008).

A meaningful event from my clinical experience was during week six when one of my colleague and I along with the RN performed a wound care procedure on one of my client who had pressure ulcers on her coccyx area and wound on the right foot. It was my first time doing wound care on a client who has severe wound type. Client is a 90 years old female who has been admitted to the unit for Osteomyelitis, it is an infection of the bone, caused by bacteria breaking into the body’s tissues and entering the bloodstream through an open wound (LeMone, p.1382). The client said a dog bit her foot at a park few years ago and that’s how she got the wound. Client has a wound care dressing order that needs to be changed daily with Betadine soaked gauze for all areas,

Working with the nurse who cared for my ailing grand-aunt, was a life changing experience. I would assist with bathing, grooming and toileting as well as reading to my aunt a couple of her favorite mystery novels. Evening though my grand-aunt 's condition was irreversible, I felt at peace because her nurse made sure she was comfortable and her needs were met. The compassion, empathy, work ethics and support the nurse provided for my family and grand-aunt during this difficult time resonated with me, the nurse inspired me in so many ways and even encouraged me to pursue a profession in nursing.

What did I like about the experience? I did like that my clinical instructor challenged me. Her expectations were very high for each student. I respected that she was serious about her role as a nursing instructor. She often tells us that she knows what will be awaiting us as new graduate nurses and she wants us to succeed. I work diligently to ensure that I will be successful.

Throughout my clinical experiences, there have been quite a few circumstances I have been placed in that have remained with me whether good or bad. All of them have been learning experiences for me whether it is how to improve and to do better next time from a mistake, for me to learn that this is or is not how a patient should be treated, how to handle family situations, and many others. One experience that I was able to participate in that will remain with me because I had not experienced this before was during my critical care rotation in the fall of 2015. This patient was dying and we were implementing comfort care for him.

Time spent at my mother’s bedside in the intensive care unit changed my perception of the nursing profession. I realized what unique value was integrated in comprehensive nursing care, which was built on excellence, compassion, and respect. I knew right then and there that nursing was a professional path which I would like to take. Changing my college major to nursing was not a difficult decision – I wanted to repay for all that courteous care my family received in the most vulnerable time of our lives.

As a new nurse, I remember feeling overwhelmed with task to do daily with multiple patients. How could I assess, chart, give meds and care for 5 patients all at the same time. I was distracted for years. There was no time to feel empathy or compassion for my patients. Many nights I would go home thinking this is not why I became a nurse. After years in a civilian hospital and nursing homes I decided to take a job at a small military hospital.

Preparing for nursing school could be very stressful. I want to make sure that I am preparing for nursing school in every way. Taking Nursing School Success course has educated me on several different areas that are important to succeed nursing school. Making sure that I am organized and prepared for class early are two tasks out of several that are important as I major in nursing.

I had the privilege of going to Smith Elementary School in Long beach for my clinical rotation. I didn 't know what to expect before going in, but as soon as I walked in, I was greeted with friendly smiles. Nurse Olga was the most friendliest nurse and she showed me how things worked around her facility. They have computer system program that shows all the teachers can look at to find out their student’s health conditions. The nursing office had pretty much all the basic equipments that she would need to take care of her patients. My activities included signing in patients as they came in, prioritizing care based on complaints. Checking patient 's temperature was very common and I had to call several parent to pick up their children due to fever and malaise. I learned how to give vision and hearing test to children. Couple patients had routine medications like Albuterol and Clonidine. Most of all I had to treat basic wound care.

One of the most challenging patient experiences I had was this female patient who was admitted in the facility following multiple toes amputations. I was working and her lower

This is a reflective essay based on a situation encountered during my first six-week placement on an ear, nose and throat ward at a local hospital. In order that I could use this situation for my reflection the patient will be referred to as "Mr H". This is in order that his real name is protected and that confidentially maintained in line with the NMC Code of Professional Conduct to

During my first clinical rotation as a nursing student, I was assigned to care for several older adults suffering from dementia. Although all of my patients ranged in severity from mild to severe progression of dementia, they all experienced moments of agitation, anxiety, or disturbed behaviors related to their disease. It occurred to me after careful review of several patient charts that despite often being prescribed pharmaceutical regimes for other comorbidities, these patients were rarely prescribed medications, besides those to control anxiety, specifically targeted at treating their progressing dementia. Through some research I discovered that the significant number of individuals affected with dementia is a growing public health concern in part due to the current limited ability of pharmaceutical treatments to treat the disease (Samson, Clement, Narme, Schiaratura, & Ehrle, 2015). This revelation began my interest in current nonpharmacological treatments being implemented in controlling adverse behaviors and feelings in patients diagnosed with dementia.

The case that I have chosen to reflect on was a patient that was already staying on a ward within the hospital, the patient was rushed to the emergency theatre late at night from the ward with a suspected internal bleed, the cause and exact location of the bleed was unknown, the patient presented a complex case for the theatre staff as the patient 's condition was largely unpredictable along with the amount of blood loss that the patient could lose. My role within the theatre team was on the anaesthetic side, I was supported by my mentor who I feel I have learned a vast amount of