No more patients who are in comas, or can't talk to you because they have a trach. No more patients on 5 different IV antibiotics and 14 other medications. No more patients with CRAZY wounds. No more ghetto IV pumps.
No more crazy instructors who don't really like you and are often downright mean. No more paperwork that takes HOURS
I fondly call the place I have been having my clinicals at the Dead Zone. Because like 30 people die there every month. There was one time we had 3 in a 24 hour period. You walked in there and you just could feel the death. Plus I always came home feeling like I smelled and was covered in drug-resistant bacteria! I literally would go straight to the bathroom...shed and shower....keeping my scrubs inside out so that they would not contaminate my other clothes in the dirty laundry basket.
But there were some benefits to this experience. I really got an idea of what nursing is kind of like. It was total immersion...trial by fire. And I have learned a lot. I have a skill set I didn't even know I could have at the beginning of this semester.
This hospital also has things that I will likely never see again in my training..and likely not even in my practice. Mostly wounds. Seriously I saw some pretty nasty and crazy wounds.
I also got to work with some really great nurses...some not so great ones too...but that is how real life is.
I worked with equipment that wasn't always high tech....and got really to really appreciate electronic charting (paper charting just sucks!!!)
But some of my favorite experiences were with my patients. Of course....its me we are talking about. I went into nursing for the patients. One week my patient flirted mercilessly with me. He was 50-something and married. But it was very sweet. Another week I had a patient who couldn't talk (he was trached) but would grab my hand and mouth things as I worked with him. Then there was the week I had a patient who had a very flat affect, but once I got him talking, he completely changed, animatedly telling me all about his dogs, and his business and his life. Then there was my cranky patient. LIKE SERIOUSLY CRANKY!!!!! That was an adjustment!
And then today. My patient couldn't talk again. But when your patient grabs your hand and gives you a look...they are talking loud and clear! I would have to say the "thank you" look and the "oh please help me" looks are the ones that tug at my heart strings most. Obviously I like the thank you one the best. But they both remind me why I am becoming a nurse.
The patients are what help me get through the hard tests..the crazy workload....the obnoxious instructors.....the insane schedule.
Thanks heavens for other people. As anti-social as I feel sometimes, deep down inside, I realize that life would suck alone. Enjoyed the post.
ReplyDelete