I think I could also state my nursing Dx as Impaired Verbal Communication r/t lack of information.
Today was our second of two days at the nursing home.
My day actually went pretty well until the last 15 minutes of clinical. HIPAA prevents me from telling you exactly what happened, but in general, I was finished charting (which should be our very last thing) and was then given another task. I didn't mind doing that task in the slightest, in fact, I'm glad I was give the opportunity to provide that care for my pt. But it made me late to post conference and then a task that I had been reminding my instructor about had not gotten done and she blamed me for it.
I'm not trying to escape blame. There are things for which I am to blame, but I dont believe this is one of them. I specifically remember them telling us that if we had trouble carrying out this specific part of our assessment due to our pt's condition, let them know and they would find a pt with whom we could interact to get this assessment done. I hadn't been on the floor at the nursing home 10 minutes before I let her know. She told me to remind her later. So I did remind her--FIVE OR SIX TIMES OVER THE NEXT TWO DAYS I reminded her. So then when we finished post conference (which I was late to b/c she gave me another task) I reminded her that I hadn't gotten it done and then she snapped on me!! She told me that it was my responsibility to have found another pt that I had better find one quick! My question is: If it was my responsibility to take care of this issue, why did I have to keep reminding her about it over the past two days. Why couldn't she have just told me that I needed to find someone?
I am totally willing to admit that there are times when I don't know what to do and I also have stupid moments, but I didn't think today was one of them.
The crazy thing is--I really like this instructor--even after today's incident. Overall, she's been fabulous. I would venture to say 99% of the time she is fussing, we did something wrong. And I have no problem with her making a big deal out of some (most) things. This is nursing--it's serious stuff! These are people's lives that we are dealing with--she has every right to push as as hard as she can. I'm cool with that. We change lab/clinical instructors after midterm, which is Monday, and I'm really sad to lose this instructor.
I know that there were probably several things I could have done differently on my part to have prevented this situation, but this was my second assessment EVER and only my 2nd and 3rd time to do clincial EVER. There were so many things to think about--everything is very deliberate and takes conscious thought right now. Nothing is second nature to me. Considering all this, I thought I did okay--not great, but okay. I learned A LOT!!!!!! which was the point of the clinical experience anyway.
I came home today and got in the shower b/c I could smell my pt on me still and cried the whole time I was in the shower. Then trying to tell Dave about my day I squalled all over again. It's amazing how lack of sleep can affect your mood. I think I could've handled this situation better had I been going on more sleep.
Nursing school is definitely a rite of passage!
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
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4 comments:
Doctors often treat nurses like scum on their shoes as you probably already know. Right or wrong, you're often going to have to be the scapegoat. Perhaps your teacher is just trying to help prepare you for those occasions. Just remember, God knows the truth, and that's what really matters. I love you, MOM
Hi Laddie! Just wanted to say hang in there, and I know you will. And remember you will continue to improve each time we go to the hospital. You did a great job this week, you definatly had a challenging patient, and im sure the cards played that way for a reason. I can see you have pertinent qualities needed to make a great nurse. See ya tomm!
Bedtime comes eventually every day!
I didn't completely understand your situation as you had to be discreet, but I can tell you that you just have to continue using common sense (no matter how much book sense you aquire the next couple of years). What works in one situation, may not work in another. These instructors go to boot camp to learn how to torture you! LOL Stay strong. Love you
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