Placement finished, two more to go

My hospital placement is over now. The last two days I looked after a patient who had a flesh eating bug that gave her massive sores on her legs that looked a lot like pressure wounds. I got to do the dressings each day for her which involved washing out the wound using sterile technique then packing it with gauze again and re-dressing it. It took about 45 minutes each time. The wounds looked a lot like this and each one was about twice the size of a tennis ball and quite deep. There was a lot of yucky yellow stuff in it as well.


Because the bug was resistant to all antibiotics and contagious she was in an isolated room and I had to wear a disposable gown every time I went in. The other patient I had had TB and anyone who went into his room had to wear a mask. He was also a drug addict and was very rude and abusive. He always asked for more morphine and said his pain was 10 out of 10 even though 5 minutes before he was walking around and going downstairs for a cigarette. He even wanted "lots of morphine to take home" when he was discharged. In those cases, I just got the doctor to speak to him about it because he was just bossing me around. It didn't bother me though. You can't take these things personally, and it's good preparation for my next placement - drug and alcohol detox.

On the last day my buddy wanted to switch roles with me, so I played the role of the RN and he was my buddy. I had to make a plan for the whole shift for 4 patients, delegate tasks to my "buddy" and decide what to do when something unexpected happened. Nothing too exciting happened but it was a good exercise to gain confidence and I had the chance to liaise directly with the allied health staff (doctors/social workers etc) to plan patient care. We all had to bring something as a gift for the staff on our ward to say thankyou. I brought strawberries and a bag of lemons (from my garden) and they were a big hit. We got to leave a bit early and our whole group went out for dinner and drinks at one of the nearby pubs on Brunswick St.

Yesterday I went over to my nan's house again to watch the football grand final (again, because it was a draw last week). Collingwood won so a few drinks were had and I stayed for dinner. Today I've just been cleaning my house and doing my assignment which is due tomorrow and I've just finished. It was about patient care following a blood transfusion allergic reaction.

This week I have off but I have quite a bit planned: Monday - yoga, return library books, massage; Tuesday - hairdresser, take manny to vet for vaccinations; Wednesday - Le Bop dance class; Thursday - teaching; Friday - teaching.