Day Eight

Today was the first day that i felt i can do this. I mean actually do this. I had an amazing EN student with me who is so willing to learn. And i was thinking independently, instead of forever asking for clarification on something. I've learnt basic things now, some routines, where things are, the way certain things are carried out. It feels good.

Of course, i'm still making small mistakes. Like forgetting we needed a faecal sample from a pt (patient) until after he had used his bowels. But nothing life threatening, nothing even really harmful (this shift anyway). I know i've still probably got that expectation bar set way to high (i'm learning, i need to give myself time to do that and not just expect to know it all) but i'm slowly lowering it a little bit, as well as rising up to meet it. :)

Today i rang the doctor for the first time regarding a pt and pain management issues that they were having. I needed to explain the situation and what i was after. I also made a suggestion of what i thought, with the help of my very knowledgeable GNP coordinator, would be a possible drug to try (even tho i wrote it on the stat med chart, and spelt it incorrectly...at least today i can say i now know how to correctly spell it. Its buscopan..not buscapam. :P). The doctor then came over to review the patient and i found that i was able to appropriately and professionally liase with him regarding the pts care and what i was needing to do to help with their pain management. A very helpful skill to pick up early on in this industry. Although i do believe that i will still need quite a bit of practice at it before i am truely competent in this area. Just got to remember baby steps..as long as im learning and increasing my abilities i am doing ok.

The other thing that is new to me is bedside handover, a new initiative brought in by Health SA to help involve the patients in their own care. Basically it involves the morning staff member responsible for the patients care and the afternoon staff members to talk to and with the pt at handover time. You get the patient to introduce themselves and why they are in hospital, explain what we are providing for them in terms of care, check they are wearing correct wrist bands with their personal information on them (red for those with alerts) and give the pt a chance to ask any questions or raise any concerns they have with their care. i felt that today i had a slight grasp on this, still a long way from perfect, but definately heading in the right direction. :)

So i found that today i felt better about everything. I felt competent and like i will actually survive this year without too many mistakes, because lets face it, they will happen. But i feel like i will cope with anything that is thrown at me, and if i can't, i feel that i will be able to ask the appropriate questions to the right people to get the answers i need. Fingers crossed i continue to feel this way. :) x