My Experience
Because nursing school is incredibly demanding and difficult, I did not expect anything less shadowing a nurse for the first time in a medical surgical unit. Before walking into the hospital, I felt terrified of all the things that could come my way on my first day. Nevertheless, my nerves suddenly disappeared when my clogs guided me into the hospital. I instantly felt a connection to Swedish American Hospital. Not only did I have a connection with the hospital itself, but also I gained a connection with everyone around me. The facial expressions and attitudes I received with my uniform on made me feel what I’ve always wanted to feel, that nursing is the most trusted and ethical profession out there. I felt praised, honored,
By doing everything the nurse can for her patients, makes the nurse know their patient better than anyone else. The nurse I shadowed is confident, organized, and on top of things. The nurse’s role is to check on your patients as often as you need to, especially if they have questionable vitals, pain issues, confusion, or post-operative restrictions. Don 't wait for your patients to ask for pain meds, especially if they have just had surgery. Nurses assess their patients, give them a nursing diagnosis, create a plan that meets certain goals or outcomes that would fit their top needs, perform interventions to meet those goals, and then evaluate the results, and start the process over again. From this shadowing experience, I learned that a nurse’s role is far deeper and involves more critical thinking. A nurse’s role is not just taking vital signs and documenting what is normal or not, not just charting patients, and not simply passing out medications. Nurses do a lot of patient education, teaching them about their disorders, how to manage them, teach them about their medications, and side effects. You are responsible for delegating tasks to assistive personnel like nursing assistants, all the while remaining completely responsible and legally liable for anything that might go
Although nurses do not wield the power of doctors in hospital settings, they are still able to effectively compensate for a doctor’s deficits in a variety of ways to assure patient recovery. Nurses meet a patient’s physical needs, which assures comfort and dignity Nurses explain and translate unfamiliar procedures and treatments to patients which makes the patient a partner in his own care and aids in patient compliance. Nurses communicate patient symptoms and concerns to physicians so treatment can be altered if necessary and most importantly, nurses provide emotional support to patients in distress.
The health care workers in the show Nurse Jackie, are portrayed as as hard working professionals who hold a high regard for patient care. The nurses follow an established dress code which requires clean and preferably wrinkle free scrubs, as well as, a stethoscope. Since the nurses work in the ED they have had to develop strong relationships with the doctors to ensure that everyone can be trusted (Austin, 2009; Brixius, Wallem, & Dunsky, 2009; Hudis, 2009). For the most part the nurses know that the doctors hold the ultimate control, but with increasing trust the nurses can be empowered to exercise a broader scope of practice. When interacting with the patients, the nurses act in a professional manner and employ appropriate interpersonal skills and non-verbal signs. Finally, these nurses have meaningful roles because they are portrayed as individuals who provide a high level of bedside care and are willing to accommodate most of their patient’s needs (Austin, 2009; Brixius et al., 2009; Hudis, 2009).
Transitioning from academic nursing student to Registered Nurse/New Graduate Nurse (NGN) within the healthcare environment is a challenging task for many NGNs. They may encounter a number of challenges, such as the following: transition shock, professional isolation, lack of clinical experience, stress, lack of a support network and cultural incompetence. At the end, this essay will discuss the rationale for developing my two most important goals for the next twelve months. I presume the transition from academic nursing student to Graduate Nurse will be challenging and rewarding. In their findings, the researchers Doody, Tuohy & Deasy (2012) stated that for a successful transition NGNs need to be competent in a range of domains: interpersonal skills, managing workloads, providing health information, communication, and prioritising care delivery.
My interest in nursing first stemed when my grandfather was diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer. Hospice had come into their home, and I was amazed at how they coped with their job. The people who took care of the person I loved the most, were compassionate and caring. Most of all they helped all of us through a time of need. During that time I realized helping people in whatever way I could in the medical field, was the career for me. My grandmother was also a nurse. She would tell me stories of when she worked in different hospitals. When I heard all of her experiences, I wanted to make memories of my own in the nursing field. This past summer, I took a CNA course at Valley Falls/Holton, Kansas. When I enrolled in this course, I thought
...rking in the hospitals all across the nation, and employing confident employees to those positions will make a large impact on how well people are treated in medical facilities. Every nurse should follow procedure and focus on the job at hand—healing people.
We are not only responsible for patient care, but we are also included in many other roles. Before nursing school, I thought that the main responsibility of the nurse is to take care of patient. During nursing school, I learned that patient care was not the nurses known just for. We took many general courses and nursing course work to prepare ourselves to be an educated member. For example, it was required to us to take microbiology, anatomy, leadership, professionalisms, etc to help us to become a better nurse and have a foundation base of education. We give patient care in the hospital, but we are also provider of care. We use the nursing process to help and make decision for our patient. Our decisions are based on critical thinking, clinical reasoning, and accountability. We are hold accountable for everything we do and based on our judgment to provide care to the best of patient’s benefit. We are also known for our role as a manager, designer, and coordinator of patient care. I plan and coordinate patient’s care based on their health care needs. In clinical, my patient has a Foley catheter, I will know to plan and implement Foley care to help with personal hygiene and preventing infections. It is important to make decisions based on priorities, time, and resources. As nurses, we need to know how to delegate and ask for assistance when needed. For example, I needed help to ambulate my patient who has a total knee replacement, I then ask
For the duration of this clinical experiences my intentions are to gain experience in leadership and develop those skills by establishing a partnership with R.K. She is currently teaching a leadership development course which I would like to develop a partnership with her and complete a community project.
It takes a while to get to know yourself before you are able to care for another person. Studying oneself is challenging because it allows reflection of one’s inner self, exposing your strengths, weaknesses, vulnerabilities, interests, habits, defenses, and values. On the same note, it allows a person to be more familiar with the challenges he or she faces, how they might respond to certain situations, and offers an opportunity for learning and growth. Throughout this paper, I will discuss the various pieces of myself. I will consider my personal and professional life as a nurse, what I might employ as my mental model, which may limit my frame of thinking, how it has shaped me so far in my education, and how I relate to others.
Wayne (2014), quoted that “People often think that nursing is just an easier alternative to becoming a doctor. When can we escape from this? Probably not, and that’s beyond our control. But this irrational assumption has proved nothing through the years. It only motivated nurses from showing the world their worth and how much of a difference nursing makes”. I also loved when she said that one of the most exciting jobs in the world is nursing and that we should wear the title with pride and that we, nurses, are unique. I totally agree with her, what nurses do is not easy. One of my favorite quotes is “Nurses don’t wait until October to celebrate Make a difference Day - they make a difference EVERY DAY!” (Nurseslabs). As a nurse we put a lot of knowledge, time, effort, and love in caring for our patients making sure that we give our 100 % sometimes even more.
Many years from now, I will take this experience with me to better myself as a nurse. I know for the future that it is in my patient’s best interest, if I collaborate with other health care professionals. In order to maintain patient safety, I must always remember to work together with my fellow collogues to obtain a positive working environment. In order to be a good nurse, I need to always understand that I am part of a team to help those in need. I want to incorporate providing efficient care to each and every patient the best way I possibly
Nursing has always been a key career in the health care system. Although it is not often focused on in media and stories surrounding health care, nursing is a career of great importance. If any patient was asked about their experience at a hospital or a care center, many will mention the capability and care that they received from the nurses. The health care system could not function efficiently, if at all, if nurses were not present to perform their part. Nurses are more than just physicians support staff. Of interest in this paper is why people choose to study nursing in university or college. From students just graduating high school to mature student who have prior degrees or education, nursing is a popular choice as a path to study
I started my Nursing career in India and then I came to the United States and became an RN. I entered Nursing with the thinking that Nursing is a profession that will always allow me to have a job and all my patients will get better. However, from my experiences I understood that Nursing is more than just giving medications, and it requires clinical competence, cultural sensitivity, ethics, caring for others, and life-long learning about others and the evolving field of medicine. Florence Nightingale once said:
I believe that Nursing is a profession that is unique to the individual. My reasons for choosing such a profession is due to the fact that I have a desire to help others. Growing up with a very sick parent of whom I traveled back and forth over the years to many physician offices, lead me to develop my career path at an early age which was nursing. I watched the many doctors and nurses providing care to my mom in such a compassionate way, and as a result of the kindness they showed my sibling and me, I was very much aware this was as some may say, “my calling”. I had a conversation with my mom and told her that one day I was going to be a nurse so that I could care for her in the same manner that I saw the nurses and physicians caring for her. I wanted to
I was then introduced to a patient who was in isolation. Her legs were immovable and were crossed in a very uncomfortable position. I wish I could’ve done something so that her legs could be in a more comfortable position, but all I could do was observe and get her a cup of ice cold water to drink. During this clinical observation, I didn’t get to see much but overall, it was a good experience. It made me realize what it was like to be in a hospital setting and what it meant to be a nurse. Seeing how the patients were still able to smile through all the pain they went through, it made me want to become a nurse even more because I would also like to make my patients happy. If I could do one thing differently during this clinical observation, I wish I didn’t ask my senior nurse about what externships she took and instead, I wished I asked her more questions about the patients in order to gain more information about
To me, being a nurse requires a great sense of selflessness and courage to devote your time and being to helping others. Nurses work long hours and experience straining situations for the satisfaction and fulfillment of helping others. More specifically, experiencing life and death, as well as applying your full self--emotions, knowledge, courage, and strength--takes a toil on the mind and body, but the innate satisfaction, human connections, and experiences I would be able to live through prevails over any thought of stress. The quote “A nurse is one who opens the eyes of a newborn and gently closes the eyes of a dying man. It is indeed a high blessing to be the first and last to witness the beginning and end of life” further reflects