Monday, June 18, 2012

My Second First Day

Today was my first day on my second rotation, Women's Specialty Obstetrics. Basically this is a floor where any patient comes if they have a problem and are pregnant. It is very similar to "Med Surg" nursing which is just general patients in a hospital but the only difference is that these patients are pregnant or just delivered their baby. (I'm getting to the point where it is strange to see a female without a pregnant belly...) While I enjoyed my first day I already know Labor and Delivery is the place for me! However this will be a great 3 weeks because I will get to see many different types of patients with varying issues which is always educational.

I love my new mentor, L. She is sassy and fun and calls me "California." She has had the most patient compliments in the past few months and I definitely know why. No matter how busy we were today she took the time to joke, laugh or even sit quietly with a patient. She made everyone on that floor feel like they were her only patient AND she took the time to explain everything to me!

We had quite a variety of patients today including a pregnant lady with a kidney infection, a post-hysterectomy patient, a hypertensive mom whose baby was in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) and a mom who had a stillborn baby. I have been used to having the same type of patients every day so this was very interesting. The hypertensive mom was definitely our most interesting patient. L said she has been in and out of Women's Specialty for her other pregnancy and this one. She has behavioral and psychological problems but L was able to deal with her very well. She is the type of patient who will only do things her way and it's usually the hardest way for the nurses. We tried to appease her all day with simple things like keeping her blood pressure cuff off until it was time to take her pressure, getting up to go to the bathroom by herself, wearing her own clothes, fixing her IV by herself, etc. because it was so much easier and it wasn't really hurting anyone. Her and her boyfriend have a history of drug abuse and I've realized now that when minimally educated individuals can name the generic and brand names of every medication we give them I don't need to look at her chart to know that they have that in their history. I took an intense course on pharmacology and I cannot name those drugs like they can! Maybe I should change my study habits...kidding!

I also was able to see a laparoscopic surgery today for an ectopic pregnancy (a pregnancy that didn't make it all the way through the fallopian tube before it began maturing. It needs to be removed from the fallopian tube before it ruptures which can cause serious complications). It is amazing how doctors can perform surgery through tiny holes in the patient's abdomen. The patient was able to leave a few hours later too which saves the patient, as well as the hospital, so much time and money! I loved being in the main OR and I can't wait for my next rotation too. Also, some of those nurse anesthetist's are quite attractive and very eager to explain things to me which I couldn't complain about!

I am exhausted from today and have work bright and early tomorrow morning so I need to get some sleep. We will see what happens tomorrow!

No comments:

Post a Comment