06Mistakes
As first semester nursing students, we have been taught a ton about medical errors. We learn that they are most times the result of a fault in the system, rather than a fault in the person. We are taught that blame and punishment does not solve the deeper problems. The possibility of making a costly mistake still terrifies me. I’ve had my share of “blonde moments” in my life including moments where I space out, have a brain fart, or have something important slip my mind. But never before have the implications of those mistakes been so serious. Here is an article a fellow classmate showed me.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/06/when-nurses-make-mistakes/
I was in a rush when I posted that journal entry, so I completely forgot to give my patient’s background!
My patient last week had short term memory loss due to a brain aneurysm. She couldn’t remember anything new for longer than 2 minutes. She had surgery to repair the aneurysm two months ago, but when they sent her home, she became aggressive towards her grandchildren due to her confused state. She had been brought back in and Social Work has been looking for a place for her to go for the past month. She can’t go home due to her aggression but she needs no medical treatment.
Clinical
For one of our classes, we have to submit a journal every week about our clinical experience. I thought I’d post the “reflection/synthesis” part of my journal from this week.
“I really enjoyed my patient today. She was so polite and I felt really sorry for her memory loss and how terrible that must be to be so disoriented all the time. I wanted to be as nice as possible so she could hopefully feel a little more comfortable and less anxious. She had a look of confusion that bordered on fear and my heart went out to her immediately. I am surprised that I instantly forgot that she is an ex-cocaine user and I liked her because she was very kind to me.
This might come off the wrong way, but she was kind of a good patient for a new nurse to have, because she didn’t remember if you had to come in the room again after only 2 minutes because you forgot to take her Pulse Ox with the rest of her vitals.
I felt that I connected with this patient very well. Every time I walked past her room, even with a group, we made eye contact and waved to each other. She looked really young for 50, and honestly she probably has at least 20 more years in her, if she holds off the coke. I’m just scared for her future and I hope for an unlikely recovery or that she can in some way find peace.”We had our first exam as a class on Friday, and we have 2 more this week. I felt very prepared for the first one, and terribly under-prepared for the 2 this week. I can only hope that the cramming I will do in the hours leading up to the tests will get me through.
Week 3
Today was the first day of Week 3 of our 10-week first semester. I’m getting used to long days, going to bed by 10 and being surrounded by 110 girls all the time. Friday is our first exam and Monday is our first Skills Sign-Off. From here on out, I pretty much have to be married to my text books. Trying to stay motivated.
You guys win!
A couple times it has come up among my fellow nursing students that they have had to defend their decision to become a nurse to family members and friends. Today in lecture, the professor had everyone raise their hand if they had been asked “Why aren’t you going to Medical school instead?” Almost every hand went up.
I can honestly say that my decision to enter nursing has been met by nothing other than genuine encouragement and enthusiasm by all of the people I have told. I really appreciate that!
^ When the title is underlined, it means it is a link you simply MUST check out!
Thanks for forwarding this to me, LB.
On pain
“Pain is what the experiencing person says it is, existing whenever and wherever the person says it does.”
-Margo McCaffery, 1972
After a restful Memorial Day weekend down the ocean, I am back in Baltimore and ready to start my program tomorrow. I have a lot of reading to do tonight to prepare for our first class assignments, but I’m feeling ready.
This week I have had my orientation for my nursing program. I have experienced a range of emotions throughout the past few days, including a few tears of frustration. I had to turn in tons of paperwork, do online tutorials, face lots of money being spent, and finish getting my house set-up all before going to the beach this weekend!
Luckily I can already tell I have an awesome support system in my boyfriend and also my new roommate, with whom I have had the pleasure of spending the last 2 weeks.
It has been overwhelming, but I am so up for this challenge. Every time they tell us how hard the program is, the more I want to excel. Every ‘A’ I get will put me closer to the graduate school of my choosing. Given the nature of my intended specialty, Nurse-Midwifery, and how ideologies of one program can vary greatly from another (I want the most crunchy granola hippie low-tech homebirthy program I can find!), getting good grades to put myself in a competitive position is crucial.
