The semester is nearing its end and I feel that I have grown personally and professionally during our clinical rotation at Saddleback Memorial Hospital. It has helped me recognize my strengths and areas for improvement, as well as given me a valuable outlook of what I want to do after graduation. Looking back at the previous weeks during this clinical rotation has brought some invaluable insights on nursing practice, safety, and advocacy.
Preconceptions of Critical Care
Critical care for me in the beginning of the semester involved a higher level of care since the acuity of patients demanded that the ICU nurse be alert, knowledgeable, possess a keen understanding of pathophysiology, have strong organizational skills, and be a good communicator. …show more content…
This was one of my biggest fears in the ICU at the beginning of the semester and I feel like this will always be in the back of my head during my whole career. In a way I think it is a good thing because it will keep me vigilant and careful when dispensing medication to my patients. Many of the medications used in ICU are very powerful drugs and they must be used cautiously especially in the elderly population. It is also not uncommon for ICU patients to have renal dysfunction, hence, all the more reason to be cautious with medication administration. I had a patient with kidney failure in ICU who had to be monitored closely for a drop in blood pressure when her pain medications were given. If we were too aggressive with treating her pain, we could’ve caused hemodynamic instability which could lead to other serious complications. Nursing judgement plays an important role in many of the decisions a nurse has to make daily. It is not just about unquestioningly following doctors’ orders. Nurses have to decide when the doctors’ orders make sense and when it does not before implementing it. In this regard, I have a lot of respect for the ICU nurses I have worked with because I saw how they question the legitimacy of orders and act to correct when those orders needed
Preconceptions of Critical Care
Critical care for me in the beginning of the semester involved a higher level of care since the acuity of patients demanded that the ICU nurse be alert, knowledgeable, possess a keen understanding of pathophysiology, have strong organizational skills, and be a good communicator. …show more content…
This was one of my biggest fears in the ICU at the beginning of the semester and I feel like this will always be in the back of my head during my whole career. In a way I think it is a good thing because it will keep me vigilant and careful when dispensing medication to my patients. Many of the medications used in ICU are very powerful drugs and they must be used cautiously especially in the elderly population. It is also not uncommon for ICU patients to have renal dysfunction, hence, all the more reason to be cautious with medication administration. I had a patient with kidney failure in ICU who had to be monitored closely for a drop in blood pressure when her pain medications were given. If we were too aggressive with treating her pain, we could’ve caused hemodynamic instability which could lead to other serious complications. Nursing judgement plays an important role in many of the decisions a nurse has to make daily. It is not just about unquestioningly following doctors’ orders. Nurses have to decide when the doctors’ orders make sense and when it does not before implementing it. In this regard, I have a lot of respect for the ICU nurses I have worked with because I saw how they question the legitimacy of orders and act to correct when those orders needed