Personal Reflection Of Working At The Emergency Department

On Sunday, April 17, once again I woke up super excited about working at the emergency department at JFK. After 7 days working in this unit, I feel more confident every day and I want to be as productive as I can. I arrived to work with 15 minutes of spare time. I knew it was supposed to be a busy day as usual on the weekends; therefore, I prepared myself in anticipation to apply some of the skills I have learned. The morning was uneventful and we spent time learning how to effectively prioritize the duties. In addition, my nurse and I spent time learning about how to recognize and address child abuse and drug seeking patients in the emergency department. Around 0900 we started admitting patients.

Although is not common to follow up with patients

Patient Presentation:

Ms. L. R., is a 17 year old Hispanic female who was brought to the emergency department by her uncle in law after she fell while walking at the park. She is 28 weeks pregnant, 5’5 tall, and her weight is 156 pounds.

Assessment:

Oxygenation: The patient’s general appearance was calm, quiet and cooperative. She didn’t exhibit any signs or symptoms of distress. Breath sounds were clear on auscultation of all the lobes, both during inspirations and expirations. The patient’s respiratory rate was 17. She didn’t exhibit any signs or symptoms of respiratory distress. Respiratory effort was minimal with small chest and abdominal movements. Heart rate was 86 beats per minute. Mucous membranes were pink and moist; capillary refill less than 3 seconds. The patient denies a medical history. Patient states that she is taking the prenatal vitamins. She denies any trauma to her belly with the fall; however, she said that her baby is not moving as frequently as she was moving before the fall. A Fetal hear assessment of the baby was obtained and the baby’s hear rate was 141 beats per minute. Patient denies any vaginal bleeding. The patient’s oxygen saturation was 99% at room

The patients is a minor (17 year old) who was accompanied by her uncle in law and two cousins. The patient never answered a question without first looking at her uncle for approval. She didn’t have social security or driver’s license. The way her uncle was behaving was a little suspicious to us; therefore, we decided to ask the uncle to leave the room. She stated that her uncle is her legal guardian in this country and that she just moved to the United States of America. Because she reported that her baby wasn’t moving frequently, she was admitted to the OB floor at the main