Please review the answers from at least two of your peers and provide any feedback, similar experiences, or suggestions. Always construct your responses in a word processing program like Word. Check

Nancy,

I started my practicum experience at the Emergency room department. My preceptor Brooke has 2 years’ experience in the emergency room as a Registered nurse and 15 years as a respiratory technician in different departments of the hospital. The emergency room is fast paced and most of the time is spent admitting, running tests and discharging patients.

I can say that 99% of the patients that we have admitted so far required an IV line started, blood work and imaging. On my second day, I was to start an IV on a patient that seemed to have good veins but every time I would get a flash back the vein blew and I had to start over. I thought I was doing something wrong but when the preceptor took over, she had the same results and had to try three times before we could get an IV started on this patient. One of the reasons that this could happen is because of weak walls.

We had a 4-year-old patient that was brought in due to drowning and this case left me feeling numb and paralyzed. The emotions were so high, I was afraid to jump in and offer help as I was not emotionally prepared and found myself standing alone when everyone in the room was busy doing something to save this little boys’ life. One of the things I learned is to separate my emotions as they prevented me from providing the needed care to save this boy’s life.

The staff at the ER have been so good and helpful during my practicum. They will come look for me whenever they have complicated cases so that I can get some more experience and this has been very helpful as I am learning so much and getting to practice different skills.

Dennis,

In my practicum, I am on the med surge floor at a busy hospital. This hospital has 36 rooms, with five nurses and 2 CNAs working each shift. Most patients are surgical, fall, infection, Hernia, or diabetic-related. My preceptor, Vesta, has 15 years of experience as an RN, but she has been on this med surge floor for three years. My schedule varies as I must follow the preceptor's schedule; I usually do 2 to 3 monthly shifts with Vesta. 

One scenario where I felt confident was when a patient was due for her Hypertension medication. At this time, Vest was administering the medication, and I was observing since it was my first day on the unit. She identified the patient and then explained the medicines to the patient. Vesta popped the pills into the cup and was about to give the medication to the patient. I asked Vesta if she needed to check the blood pressure before providing the hypertension medication; Vesta paused and said you are right. We checked the patient's blood pressure, and it was low, so she did not administer the hypertension medication. I felt confident enough to ask about the blood pressure. I learned about hypertension medication in Med Surge and the need to check the blood pressure before giving the medication. After we left the patient's room, Vesta complimented me on catching her error. This made me feel confident using the knowledge I learned while in class. 

One situation where I felt scared was when the nurse asked me to remove a Foley catheter. I was unsure as I had only done it on a dummy in a lab several times. Vesta was there to support me along the way. She was there if I had any questions or needed clarification on the next step. She patiently guided me, and the patient's Foley catheter was removed without incident. In the future, when I have to do it again, I will be more confident in my abilities, and if I need more clarification on something, I will ask questions. Performing catheter care and removal in class differs from doing it on a living patient. They give you a basic understanding during the lab, but doing it on an actual patient is where my clinical skills will improve. Like they say, practice makes perfect, at least sometimes.