Personal Narrative: My Shift In The ICU

I sat at the kitchen counter, staring at the green cabinets and bowls of fruit. I wanted to play in tonight’s soccer game, but my mind was still foggy from the drugs I received in the hospital the day before. I didn’t want my teammates to see me like this. My hair was matted from where my head rubbed against the blue hospital pillow, and a wrinkled piece of clear tape secured a nasal feeding tube onto my cheek. I hated what the tube meant: that I was inadequate and that I couldn’t drink by myself. I was someone who insisted on doing everything on my own, and the thin, flexible tube was a physical reminder that I could not. My mom and dad lauded my bravery, but I dismissed them. I didn’t believe bravery was dictated by necessity.

Katlynn was out of the hospital after about a week and a half. All of us girls cleaned the house spotless upon her arrival. That may not sound like much, but we were young girls that lived on a farm, so being messy was pretty much our thing. Katlynn came home and we all showered her with hugs. The first week she was home we watched her like a hawk, trying not to make it noticeable. Since Kate got out of the hospital she has to take pills every morning and night, and she had to make a trip to Mason city twice a year. Today she only goes once a year because she hasn’t suffered a seizure since. There have been a few scares here and there, though. It’s been seven and a half years since that terrible day, and Kate’s doing great. She is at the age

When I first started going to Terra State Community College I was an eighteen-year-old with two jobs and ambition towards the medical field. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I began my first semester by taking very broad classes so that I could use them towards any career. I remember looking up different career paths that I could possibly take through Terra and weighing my options. I then came across medical assisting, a truly perfect career for me. I met with my advisor and set up a visit with Mrs. Hopkins, and as soon as I sat down with her, I knew this is what I wanted to do. This field allowed me to do everything that I could of imagine wanting to do within the medical field.

Trapped within a hospital stairway with hundreds of other unlucky people. We were in the middle of a tornado warning and were forced to congregate within the hospital’s innermost walls. Every update on the storm raging on outside caused an uproar of cell phones going off with notifications. The hospital’s hallways and stairways were so hot and humid from the compact beings within, to the point you could almost see the steam rising from each individual body. Nearing the emergency exit door in the stairwell, I could hear the ferocious roar of the wind outside, along with the loud squeal of the Tornado Sirens. We were told to remain inside of the walls until the warning has passed, which took half an hour or longer, the specifics I am not sure of.

I had such a great day at clinical yesterday. I was finally able to see a vaginal delivery and that entire process. When I arrived in the morning, the mom had just received Cytotec, to help induce labor and ripen her cervix. She was forty-one weeks and zero. Around ten thirty in the morning, she asked for her epidural to manage her pain. We bolused her with fifteen hundred milliliters of lactated ringers to prevent hypotension. Shane was the certified registered nurse anesthesiologist (CRNA) who administered the epidural. It was very cool watching him administer all the needed pain relief medication before he administered the epidural to make sure that it would be placed in the epidural space in the spine. Then administered a small test dose, waited till a few blood pressures were taken, then administered the remaining about through an epidural pump. After the epidural was administered, I was able to administer her foley catheter. I was so happy that I was finally able to place one. I learned a few tricks from Maura (my nurse) as well. She taught me that it was easier to take the top off of the lubricant syringe and to place the tip of the foley inside of the syringe, that way it will not wiggle around and become unsterile. She also taught me to grab from the bottom of the labia and pull up, that way it ensures that I will have a clear entrance to

The next step after hearing from the neurosurgeon was getting Miranda through the pain of the surgery. Kevin decided he would take night shifts and I would take days. One of us had to be there at all times as her advocate. So, I was there from 7:00 am until 7:00 pm and Kevin was there the other 12 hours. Twelve-hour shifts are hard especially on a body like mine, which had just gone through two surgeries in the past four months. My first shift began as soon as Miranda requested us to come to her in the PACU unit, which is the first place a patient goes after surgery at that hospital. Kevin and I went in together, but he left so he could sleep and come back for the night. I sat in a chair beside her bed for about seven hours without a break. The unit was in constant motion with people coming out from surgery and heading to their rooms for recovery. Miranda’s breathing would not stabilize so we waited longer than most patients. Grandparents and friends were not allowed in the unit so I was on my own. It was odd. I had been there twice because of my surgeries, but this time I was there for Miranda. They gave Miranda a pump for her pain and it did help her

My first week went really well! I was definately both nervous and excited on the first day. I was nervous because I wasn't sure how the clinic would run and I quickly learned that it is a very fast paced clinic. My CI sees patients every 15 minutes and he is both the only PT there and the owner of the clinic. I have been learning a lot about PT treatments as well as the buisness side of the PT clinic. He has a lot of PT aides that help with exercises and setting patients up with ice and stim ect. The fast paced clinic was definately something I had to get used to. I was a little overwhelmed when we would just start with a patient and a new patient would walk in the door. However, there is a very good flow in the clinic and everyone is always

I was born on June 26, 2002 in Albany, NY. I lived there until I was about 5, then we moved to Edinboro. For about three years of my childhood I maintained to average an emergency room trip a year. First when I was in Kindergarten my brother accidentally shut a door on my face. The edge of the door knob hit my lip and cut it in half. I started gushing blood. I was crying because that bad boy hurt and then my mom asks, “do you want some Tang”. I didn't want the Tang because my lip was gushing blood. So we went to the emergency room and I got eight stitches. My next injury happened the summer of me going into first grade. We had this croquet set, and me and my brother were pitching an exercise to each other and hitting it with the croquet mallet.

On Thursday June 14, 2017, I had to return a page from the emergency room (ER) doctor for and admit. When I returned the page the ER doctor wanted to admit a patient with stage 4 brain cancer that was a DNR for hospice care. I told the ER doctor that this was not an appropriate because this patient needed and wanted hospice care and that the hospitalist did not need to be involved. The ER doctor proceeded to tell me that I don’t want to do my job and I need to admit the patient so he could get the care that he needed. When he told me that over the phone I almost lost my cool and professionalism in a matter of seconds. I hung up the phone and walked down to the ER. I went into the patient room and spoke to the family members and they told me

My first clinical I felt my greatest accomplishment was not being shy and hesitant. The first day we had clinical was the first day that I got the opportunity to float to another floor, I was very nervous at first. Going into a new place for anyone is different at first because you don’t know what to expect. I think what made my experience so great was the endoscopy nurses and doctors, they were some of the nicest and helpful people I’ve met so far. I got a wonderful opportunity to learn next to the doctors doing the procedures and also see other roles of the healthcare team like the nurse anesthesiologist.

Today was the second day of my 6-week placement at Ward 3A-Logan Hospital, I have originally been paired with a demand casual pool RN, however, the said RN is not confident enough to handle me as her student nurse at the time. After the scrum at 7am, and the handover on the 4-bed bay + sides, I politely ask her if I could take one patient as it was one of the instructions of my CF during the orientation on day 1, but I was answered with “I’m not really familiar with the area and I’m from the demand casual pool...” Having sighted my CF at the corridors, I excused myself from the RN and discussed the matter to my CF, and she allowed me to be buddied with a very good EN, informing me that “she is an EN” before letting me to the bay and introducing me to my new buddy EN.

My first clinical was a good experience because I learned a lot. I would say my first day involved experiences that I was expected to learn but also ones I didn’t. I learned that getting up at 5am in the morning really isn’t as bad as you think, once you get your coffee paid of course. As well as the drive from Valpo to St. Mary only talks about 20 mins. As soon as I arrived at the hospital, I expected to learn about what we as student nurse would be doing, as well as that since it was the first day, learn are way around the hospital. I wasn’t to nervous about going to a hospital for clinical, but as Soon as I stepped on the oncology unit I got a little nervous. It hit me that I was no longer just practicing vital and providing base care to

During my clinical experience today, it was filled with knowledge and a bit of sadness. This morning I got paired with Nurse Rachel, she was ready to go about her day and so was I, when we do rounds with the previous nurse we both notices a patient crying and very upset to the room across from us. As we enter the room to see what was going on she told us to go away. The nurse that was there that night told us she was very demanding and cried for everything. Rachel told me after she gets the report from the previous nurse, we would go in that room first. As we enter the room once again Rachel introduced herself and as did I, the patient say she was in extreme pain and no one had given her medication. As the day when I researched her history

I am most familiar with the Urgent Medical Center. In my opinion, it is very well structured place with a diverse staffing. It was always a pleasant environment when I had to visit the center for an illness that kid occurred. The center has at least two physicians and nurses on-site at all time. Also, there are several medical assistants to help provide quality of care as patient wait to be seen by a physician. This organization promotes health and wellness services to all patients. The urgent medical center mainly focuses on treating common illness and non-life threatening injuries. One thing that they do not have on-site is an equipment for diagnostic but this don’t stop them from continuing the highest quality of care. Even though this facility

My wrists burned terribly and the stinging pain seemed to rivet through my entire body. I didn't mind it though,it gave me a sense of being alive, a sense of that somewhere in the midst of this all, I'm still human and even thought I feel dead, I know I'm not.