Another week of firsts!!!
Well, to say this week was eventful would be an understatement. Different makes it a little closer to the description. On Tuesday I was in the emergency department for a second time, and I dare say...it wasn't that...busy. It was....*whispers* quiet. Sorry, the words "quiet" and "slow" are taboo words in a place such as the ED. Anyway, right as my clinical instructor left, the first patient came in. It was quite a sad situation; she was a sweet elderly lady with a nasty hip problem that caused a lot of pain. In fact, pain was the common theme that day in the ED. But what made it sad was that she was in so much pain, that before we gave her morphine she was sitting and praying quietly "Jesus, just relieve this pain" over and over and over. I actually almost started crying, because given my history, I had prayed that same prayer many of times. It just hit a little too close to home; I hate pain. Any kind for any reason. I don't think anyone should be in pain like that sweet lady was or for how long I've had it.
Now comes the firsts. I had my first successful IV start!!!! I felt bad for the guy because he was terrified of needles but was still willing to let me give it a go. I assured him that I would not stick if I did not feel I could, but the vein was...RIGHT THERE. Sticking someone for real is a lot different than a stiff rubber arm, that's for sure! Then came the second first, which coincided with my second IV start. This lady was...in a lot of pain due to a sinus infection that was not getting better. Anyway, when getting ready to start, I asked her if she would let me try the IV start or if she would rather the nurse do it. She seemed apprehensive from the get-go about me trying, but she said I could. That already put me a little off guard; her body language was telling me the exact opposite. I was getting ready for the stick, and I barely put the needle in and she immediately withdrew her arm away. "Ok, that's enough! It shouldn't hurt like that! I don't want you to do it anymore!" Immediately I stepped aside and let the nurse do it. I left the area for a minute to compose myself, because it really caught me off guard. After the nurse was finished, I admitted that her yelling caught me off guard. "You didn't do anything wrong." So I had a successful IV start and my first time a patient yelled at me. I don't think it will be my last though, unfortunately.
My last first came with a young patient and I took his temp...the alternate route. It wasn't that bad actually; he didn't scream or anything, which made me feel a little better about...well, you know. I'll spare the details. Overall, a good day in the ED. Next Tuesday is my last Med/Surg clinical of the semester. Shew. Can't believe how fast it's gone!
Onto Thursday. It was a very interesting day for the most part. Again, had a negative encounter with a patient, but I'll explain later. The morning started with one of the patients playing his violin for us! It just really made my morning because I think sometimes with mental illness sufferers yearn for some sort of outlet just so they don't have to experience another day of symptoms. Perhaps this was this patient's; he told us he had been playing since he was 7 years old! Then, me and some of the students in my group led a module (group therapy session) on contra-dancing. If you have never contra-danced before, then you need to. It's a blast, but anyway, there were only 3 patients that showed up. We taught them a simple dance so that they wouldn't get too lost...same held true for us....lol. After the group, I ventured to the women's unit since I had never been there yet. Me and three of the other students worked on a puzzle and tried to get the patients to help us out, but they were not willing. Bummer. Anyway, one patient...really did not like us being there. At all. She even said one comment "our tax dollars are PAYING for you STUDENTS to be here." Ok....
I conclude my psych rotation next week as well. Hopefully my last week of clinicals will be positive and I will have lots of good stories to share to conclude this semester. Thanks for reading, readers. Peace be to you.
Now comes the firsts. I had my first successful IV start!!!! I felt bad for the guy because he was terrified of needles but was still willing to let me give it a go. I assured him that I would not stick if I did not feel I could, but the vein was...RIGHT THERE. Sticking someone for real is a lot different than a stiff rubber arm, that's for sure! Then came the second first, which coincided with my second IV start. This lady was...in a lot of pain due to a sinus infection that was not getting better. Anyway, when getting ready to start, I asked her if she would let me try the IV start or if she would rather the nurse do it. She seemed apprehensive from the get-go about me trying, but she said I could. That already put me a little off guard; her body language was telling me the exact opposite. I was getting ready for the stick, and I barely put the needle in and she immediately withdrew her arm away. "Ok, that's enough! It shouldn't hurt like that! I don't want you to do it anymore!" Immediately I stepped aside and let the nurse do it. I left the area for a minute to compose myself, because it really caught me off guard. After the nurse was finished, I admitted that her yelling caught me off guard. "You didn't do anything wrong." So I had a successful IV start and my first time a patient yelled at me. I don't think it will be my last though, unfortunately.
My last first came with a young patient and I took his temp...the alternate route. It wasn't that bad actually; he didn't scream or anything, which made me feel a little better about...well, you know. I'll spare the details. Overall, a good day in the ED. Next Tuesday is my last Med/Surg clinical of the semester. Shew. Can't believe how fast it's gone!
Onto Thursday. It was a very interesting day for the most part. Again, had a negative encounter with a patient, but I'll explain later. The morning started with one of the patients playing his violin for us! It just really made my morning because I think sometimes with mental illness sufferers yearn for some sort of outlet just so they don't have to experience another day of symptoms. Perhaps this was this patient's; he told us he had been playing since he was 7 years old! Then, me and some of the students in my group led a module (group therapy session) on contra-dancing. If you have never contra-danced before, then you need to. It's a blast, but anyway, there were only 3 patients that showed up. We taught them a simple dance so that they wouldn't get too lost...same held true for us....lol. After the group, I ventured to the women's unit since I had never been there yet. Me and three of the other students worked on a puzzle and tried to get the patients to help us out, but they were not willing. Bummer. Anyway, one patient...really did not like us being there. At all. She even said one comment "our tax dollars are PAYING for you STUDENTS to be here." Ok....
I conclude my psych rotation next week as well. Hopefully my last week of clinicals will be positive and I will have lots of good stories to share to conclude this semester. Thanks for reading, readers. Peace be to you.
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