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| Hmm... not sure why those cajun chips made it into the picture. :) |
What I didn't realize before this semester started is that the night before a clinical day is full to the brim with prep work for the next day. It's a good system: you go to the hospital on Wednesday afternoon, find out which patient has been assigned to you, look through every piece of their chart at least 50 times (or at least it feels like it), record the things you need, then prepare loads of paperwork on how you plan to care for them the next day.
I've found that in this process, I feel like I get to know a lot about my patient before even meeting them and in turn, develop a lot of compassion for his or her situation. For my patient this past week, I learned from her chart that she had been on vacation from out of town, had a huge medical crisis, and had now been in the hospital for two weeks... 18 hours from home. That had to be so tough. And knowing that about her the night before helped me feel even more compassion for her situation.
As a novice at this, the care plan and other paperwork takes hours. Maybe even as an expert, it will still take hours, I don't know. What I do know is that I'm learning a ton. I feel like a sponge, sopping up every morsel of information I can. I've never been in a school situation where every single thing you learn is practical - you know? It's pretty inspiring to learn about certain medications or procedures or disease processes in class one day, then to see them in real life the next.
Even in just the few weeks I've been in the hospitals, I can already say I think I'm growing a lot. Growing in confidence.
Growing in love for this vocation.
Growing in knowledge.
Growing in experience, of course.
And as hard as it is and as exhausting as it is some days, I couldn't be more thankful for the journey.
wow, your job sounds amazing! tiring, but rewarding :)
ReplyDeletei've been thinking about a medical career, but not sure if i have what it takes =S
i love seeing more about how nursing is going. it always amazes and excites me, friend.
ReplyDeletelove ya!
p.s. made homesalsa last night - yum!
That sounds really neat! Your compassion for your patients is inspiring. I too love health care and Lord willing, will pursue a Master's in Public Health in the future, once my kid(s) are in school!
ReplyDeleteWe could have used your nursing expertise earlier this week! We had a nursing student come in to care for Ruby and she went to take Ruby's blood pressure. Ruby looked at her and said, "Why are you doing it wrong?" Ruby was right. How embarrassing to be showed up by a 3 year old! Hey, at least it was just blood pressure. May all your mistakes be as minor, right?! (If Ruby needs to be hospitalized again, we'll be sure to bring her to your hospital.)
ReplyDeleteThat's a lot of studying... but I love the compassion you have for the 'whole' person.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great perspective. It's easy to see your love for the job because most people would run into a corner (myself included) and excuses to avoid all this time-consuming work. What's good is that you find the value and the worth in what you do. Keep it up, girl!
ReplyDeletei would love to have you as a nurse-someone who views their profession as a calling and depends on Jesus to fulfill i! can't wait to see all HE does through you. richest blessings.
ReplyDelete