Only 2 days left!

My clinical placement is just flying! It has been going really well, I'm enjoying it so much. All the nurses and doctors in the ward I am in are just so friendly and helpful. The patients have all been really different and I've been learning a lot about the pathophysiologies of their illnesses as well as getting the chance to practise new skills.

Goals that I've already achieved are: taking blood, giving showers/baths to patients with limited mobility (like stroke patients), taking out drainage tubes, performing an ECG, transfering a patient using a hoist, PEG tube feeding, urinary catheter removal, lots and lots of injections, nursing care planning and time management, and increasing my drug knowledge.

Every day after handover and before I give the 8:00am meds, I make a timeline plan for the whole day for the patients I am helping my buddy look after (usually 4). Then I look up all the drugs the patients are on (if I'm not familiar with the drug), and write it down in my notebook. So far I've familiarised myself with 58 new drugs!

The wide variety of patients this week have included: an Indonesian student - so got to use my language skills with him of course(actually about a quarter of the patients are international or have a low level of English), a Collingwood supporter, patient with bipolar disorder who can be really lovely one minute and abusive the next, patient with incontinance due to a stroke and who required full nursing care including spoon feeding, and young guy with dystonia. Dystonia is a neurological movement disorder, in which sustained muscle contractions cause twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal postures. He can't swallow so is fed through a PEG tub in his stomach, and he can't talk either. Unfortunately there is no cure but his symptoms are being treated with a special drug that had to be ordered from the US and costs over $1000.



Another interesting thing that I had never heard of before but have seen a lot of on this placement is the artereovenous fistula that renal dialysis patients have on their arm for a good strong, long term, access point to their blood (for the heamodyalis). One of the nurse's jobs is to feel it and listen to it with the stethescope to make sure it's working properly. They come in different shapes and sizes but look to me like a little mountain, or range of mountains, under the skin. When you feel it, the pulse is really strong. Actually you can even see it pulsating, and when you listen with the stethescope it makes a whooshing sound.



Today was my last early shift, so tomorrow I get a sleep in - YAY! and I can stay up late and watch TV - YAY AGAIN!