3/6 Journal for PostPartum

Questions

What were your responsibilities or duties this week?
-Follow Nurse


What new knowledge or skill did you learn this week?
-How a discharge works


What was the best thing that happened at the site this week?
-Actually got to see patients
-Saw a discharge

What was the worst thing that happened at the site this week?
- It was really quiet.
-There was not a lot to do


This week was FAIR.

Experience Record

Technology observed:



Diagnostic procedures observed:
None of the patients I saw were diagnosed with anything which is really good because it would be bad if new mothers get sick.


Therapeutic procedures observed:
I saw one mother was given some pain killers. They were not a very high dose because high doses might affect the baby if the mother breastfeeds.


Diseases/disorders observed:
There were no diseases or disorders there. Things would have been really bad if there were.


Medical terminology encountered:
Discharge it is when  the nurse release the patient to go recover at home.

Journal

Post Partum from what I saw was a straight hall with rooms on one side. It right next to the Nursery and L&D, which makes lots of sense when one thinks about it. The floor was clear and there were some family members that walked through the unit. There were also some mothers that were walking too but they were all down the hall. There was not a lot of equipment that was laying around other than the computers and such.
I saw only three nurses so I didn't see a lot of interaction between them. My nurse always wore gloves when she had to interact with the mothers or babies which makes sense because both of their bodies are in fragile states at the moment.
I learned that a mother gets booster shots after the baby's birth that 1) help her from getting sick and 2) can transfer to the baby through breastfeeding which helps build their immune systems. I got to see a discharge of a mother which was kind of interesting. There is lots of paper work and the nurse practically stated everything that I read in the questions packet which was slightly scary on how confident and swiftly she said it. I mentioned that to her and she just said it was because she has been saying it so many time that it just gets ingrained.

Over all, the experiance was not bad per say. It was just a bit boring because my nurse finished all the check ups a little before we got there. What I got to see was better than nothing so I won't say it was terrible.

2/27 Journal for Nursery

Questions

What were your responsibilities or duties this week?
-Follow Nurse


What new knowledge or skill did you  learn this week?
-Learned about Hyperbilirubinemia


What was the best thing that happened at the site this week?
-Listened to some jokes of the nurses


What was the worst thing that happened at the site this week?
-Did not do anything
-Saw no patients or babies

This week was BAD.

Experience Record

Technology observed:



Diagnostic procedures observed:
I saw no patients or babies.


Therapeutic procedures observed:
I saw no patients or babies


Diseases/disorders observed:
I saw no patients or babies.


Medical terminology encountered:
Hyperbilirubinemia is a condition  where there is a high level of Bilirubin in the blood stream. It is also known as Jaundice.

Journal

The nursery is surprisingly smaller than I thought. Its entrance is hidden in the middle of a hallway which was odd. The rooms themselves are also rather small. Everything is pushed to the walls and there were two island tables in the center of the main nursery. There were three sinks around the place, which makes sense because babies has weak immune systems and hand washing is the best prevention. There were five nurses there and no babies. All of them were working on charting and such on the computers.
As stated, there were about five nurses in the nursery and two more in the nursery's ICU. All of them were working at their computers charting. The checks and feedings were done right before we arrived. The nurses were rather quiet but every now and then they would have some joke going on. They got more chatty the longer I was there but I was mainly ignored.
I got into the nursery with the head nurse of the place. She tried to find something for me to do or observe but since everything was done before, there was nothing for me to do. She did tell me that they had a baby that was at risk for Hyperbilirubinemia. She logged me into a computer and set me to look up what it was with the baby's chart as reference.
My time there was pretty boring. They did not have babies in the normal nursery so there was no one to really keep my attention. I learned about Baby Jaundice and that it is bad. Though it was a coincidence that just one hour before that in my Anatomy class, my teach went over Bilirubin and the effect it has on babies, which leads to jaundice. I did have a short chuckle at that but over all, nothing happened.

2/13 Journal for PACU

Questions

What were your responsibilities or duties this week?
-Observe the tasks of RNs


What new knowledge or skill did you  learn this week?
-One can have very different vital signs when they are awake compared to asleep


What was the best thing that happened at the site this week?
-The patient I spoke with was quite interesting


What was the worst thing that happened at the site this week?
-Things were very quiet the whole time


This week was FAIR.

Experience Record

Technology observed:
The main technology that I observed were the computers that had the patient's vital signs and the charting computer.


Diagnostic procedures observed:
I was informed that the patient got an endoscopy which was why they were unconscious. It was to check on possible cancers which the person had a history for.


Therapeutic procedures observed:
The patient was given anti-hypertensive medication which was for their high blood pressure. It was abnormally high after they woke up.


Diseases/disorders observed:
The patient had hypertension which was usually controlled with a diuretic but they avoided taking it due to the procedure.


Medical terminology encountered:
Endoscopy is a nonsurgical procedure used to examine a person's digestive tract.

Journal

The PACU is a rather small and quiet area. The nurse's station faces directly where the patients are, which makes sense given that people who have just woken up are very disoriented. All the equipment is pushed to a wall or next to the patient it is for. There is not a lot of space there so room needs to be conserved. The patients were all against one wall and were separated by curtains. There were a few individual rooms but they were empty. Most patients were out patient thus making the rooms a bit unnecessary. They were also harder to keep an eye on by the nurses.

The nurse I followed was very nice. They only had one patient at the moment which is typical due to the ratio being 1:1 or 1:2, nurse to patient. They informed me that even though the ratio was so low, they had 20-30 plus patients a day,which were mostly outpatients. It all depended on the doctor's or surgeon's schedule for the day. There was not much talking that I could hear on the floor but when the nurses did interact they were rather friendly to each other and the patients.

I learned that it takes a while for a person to wake up from anesthesia. Even if they are being shaken and spoken too they can sleep through it. I also learned that in certain endoscopy procedures, the patient is 'pumped' with air to help the navigation of the endoscope through their intestines.

I had a relatively alright visit. There were no glaringly bad moments or anything that was too exciting. There were few patients on the floor that were all asleep which did not make anything very extravagant. It was not bad but still was not anything special. That day felt very relax, which was something a rather needed.

1/6 Journal for MSU Floor 6

Questions

What were your responsibilities or duties this week?
-Observe the tasks of RNs


What new knowledge or skill did you  learn this week?
-PPE is important


What was the best thing that happened at the site this week?
-There was a meeting near the end about infection control


What was the worst thing that happened at the site this week?
-I stood outside a room for 15 minutes waiting for the nurse that I was assigned to
-I did not see any patients

This week was BAD.

Experience Record

Technology observed:
I saw the different vials which are used to draw blood into. The different colored tops are signals for the lab to tell them which kind of test to do, or what to look for in that sample.


Diagnostic procedures observed:
I did not see any patients nor did I see my nurse interact with patients. I did not even see any charting.


Therapeutic procedures observed:
I did not see any patients nor did I see my nurse interact with patients. I did not even see any charting.


Diseases/disorders observed:
I did not see any patients nor did I see my nurse interact with patients. I did not even see any charting.


Medical terminology encountered:
Personal Protective Equipment- Equipment that ranges from gowns, gloves, and masks, that must be worn for protection from infections when entering an isolation room.

Journal

The floor looks exactly like MSU Floor 5 down to a T. There were 30 rooms, numbered 601-630. All the doors were closed or near that which I thought was odd. The floor was really quiet too compared to all the other places I've been to. There was not a lot of beeping or lights flashing at all. One or two family member of the patients walked through the hall but that was it. The nurses that I saw minded their own business and did not talk to me until I spoke to them.

The nurse I followed was newer than the others I saw. She was nice enough for the most part. Every time were were about to start something one of the other nurses called her on the hospital issued phones. I know that they have to work together well enough because when a patient needs to be moved some way, they have to do it as a pair. I did not get to see that for fact but it was obvious enough. However, I'm not sure how well they interact outside of working with a patient.

Since I did not see any patients or watch my nurse interact with them I did not really gain any kind of opportunity to learn anything new. I tried asking my nurse things but there was little I could draw questions from. At the least I observed my nurse put on PPE to go into a isolation room. The door was closed and got to stand outside again.

My experience was not good. Not that it was really bad or terrible but it was truly boring. I tried to talk with my nurse which worked for a bit until she was called to talk with the head nurse, I think. She became quieter after that which lead me to believe she was being told off for something. Also, right as I left, I believe that the head nurse was about to 'lecture' the whole floor of nurses. I was glad I left when I did.

1/30 Journal for Day Surgery

Questions

What were your responsibilities or duties this week?
-Observe the tasks of RNs


What new knowledge or skill did you  learn this week?
-Learned about wound care
-Learned about port maintenance

What was the best thing that happened at the site this week?
-Met the one of the most interesting patient with sickle cell anemia


What was the worst thing that happened at the site this week?
-There was no definite person to follow so I just jumped to people
-I wanted to be there longer

This week was GOOD.

Experience Record

Technology observed:
Some interesting technology I saw, which I didn't really see, was a port. A patient had a port on the left side of their chest due to how many times they had their blood taken. It is a faster and easier approach for taking or giving blood without having to go find veins.


Diagnostic procedures observed:
I did not see anything be diagnosed. The patients I saw were already diagnosed and they were just going through regular therapeutic procedures.


Therapeutic procedures observed:
I saw the cleaning of a surgical wound. It was not really pretty. It was a long procedure that involved lots of tape, some sponge, and a strong disinfectant. The nurse had to be very through due to the fact that it was a foot and it was not allowed to get wet so foot infections are a high possibility.


Diseases/disorders observed:
There was a patient who had part of their foot removed due to an infection of some kind, I believe. There was also a patient with sickle cell anemia, who came in for a port cleaning and check up.


Medical terminology encountered:
Sickle Cell Anemia is a disorder in where the red blood cells become curved shape like a sickle. It is due to abnormal strands of hemoglobin. It causes 'traffic jams' in the blood stream which does not allow the blood to oxygenate the extremities easily.

Journal

The unit was rather quiet when I was there. All the equipment was to the sides of the wall and the nurse's station was clean of any paperwork. Which in a way was proof that it was an easy day but then again it meant little for me to do. In one of the patient's rooms I was in there was not much equipment at all. The room itself was rather small too. There was only the small cleaning station which included a sink, counters and some cabinets which held medical equipment, I would assume. There was the patient's bed right in the center of the room; there was a chair right next to the bed. Other than that it was a rather uninteresting room, I believe it is for outpatients due to the fact that they would not need lots of big, expensive equipment if they will only be there for a short time.

The whole time I was there, I did not get to see the nurses interact much. I spoke to only four nurses the whole time. Each of them was very nice, and tried to find something interesting for me to do or observe. They seemed genuinely sorry that there was nothing 'cool' or 'interesting' for me to see while I was there. That, however, is all just depends on whose point of view it is. I believed the port cleansing and wound care to be fascinating to see, no matter what.

I learned that one' veins can gain 'scar tissue' if they are 'poked at' a lot. A port is helpful if this becomes the case for some patients. The port is under the skin, which is one of the weirdest things ever. It spans about six or so inches of the chest and is made of a hard material. It is so odd feeling it under skin. It's funny how feeling a port under skin un-nerved me more than seeing a foot being held by some stitches and having a 'chunk' of it missing. I also learned that a port has to be maintained by cleanings at least every month, if not, it will clog up and become useless. The patient admitted to trying to have their port cleaned every two months. After the fourth month, it clogged and they had to have it moved to the other side of their chest. They say they learned their lesson from that.

All in all, I had a fantastic time. The nurses I did interact with were horribly nice, and the patients I met were even kinder. They both were willing to talk about themselves and help educate me in either who they were or what happened to them. Some patients are not that receptive but the two I met were, which I am glad for. I learned that on has to have the right mindset to be a RN in anything, including Day Surgery. They see a wide spectrum of patients and illnesses, which they have to meet with the same calm composure without freaking out. That, I am not so sure I can do.

1/23 Journal for Radiology

Questions

What were your responsibilities or duties this week?
-Observe what goes on during an ultrasound


What new knowledge or skill did you  learn this week?
-Learned how identify blockage in an artery on an ultrasound


What was the best thing that happened at the site this week?
- I got to see how one's blood flows in an ultrasound


What was the worst thing that happened at the site this week?
-There were no x-rays or MRIs. I only saw 2 ultrasounds


This week was FAIR.

Experience Record

Technology observed:
There were big ultrasound machines in the rooms. They consisted of the screen, a keyboard, and the probe. The probe was used on the patient, which sends high sound frequencies into the person which is then received and projected on the screen.


Diagnostic procedures observed:
The ultrasounds I saw were being used to re-assess the patients after one had a heart attack while another had a thrombus in one of their arteries. The procedure as a whole helped diagnose the patient again, to see new possible treatments.


Therapeutic procedures observed:
There were no therapeutic procedures due to the fact that ultrasounds are used to assist diagnose not heal.


Diseases/disorders observed:
I observed the reassessing of a patient who had a thrombus in an artery. Also the identifying of a big blood clot of a recent heart attack victim.


Medical terminology encountered:
Echocardiogram is a procedure where an ultrasound is used to examine the heart or blood vessels, in these cases it was for blood vessels.
Sonography, also known as Ultrasound, is the uses of sound waves to help visualize tendons, muscles, joints, organs, and tissues.

Journal

When I first arrived to the X-Ray office, there was nothing to do. I was passed to the ultrasound group of which there were about 5 or 6 personnel. When I entered a room where an ultrasound was taking place, the first thing to notice is that the room is dark. It is to assist in being able to see images on the screen of the ultrasound machine better. The machine itself is rather big as well. It took up a large portion of the room it was in. The rooms were clean from what I could see and the main features were the machine and the bed or table where the patient would be.

The personnel seemed rather nice. They were all very focus on their jobs. While imaging was going on there was not much talking at all, other than my questions. My questions were all answered very punctually which was good. Every now and then they would ask about moving the probe more in some direction but over all it was silent. In a way that just proved that they worked so well together that not much talking was needed. It also showed that lots of concentration is needed in taking Doppler Echocardiogram. The veins and arteries all blended into one black and white picture to me, which was confusing even when the personnel pointed out things to me.

I learned what a Doppler Echocardiogram was. It is when one uses the Doppler Effect to pick up the sound of blood flow when examining a blood vessel. It was very interesting if not confusing. the images were black and white, except when they were colored red or blue when the Doppler test was being used. Red meant that there was a large volume of blood flow while blue meant there was a low volume of blood flow. The sound of the blood flowing was also recorded and the force of the flowing helped dictate it.

I would have to say that Radiology was very interesting. Even though I only watched ultrasounds, that were not of babies sadly, it was really cool. The personnel were nice, if not direct and quiet. The procedures were also impressive in how much concentration is needed to find one little blocked artery. 

GC 1/8

I was in Physical Therapy ironically. I stuck with one of the physical therapy assistants but still spoke with nearly everyone. Several jokes went around on me but it was all fun. I mainly just spoke with the residents because I could not do much of anything. It was rather quiet during therapy. I believe the weather was mainly getting to everyone. I still love going to rehab, especially PT.