SINU Nurse Reflection Paper

During my first day shift in SINU, my preceptor nurse helped orient me to the floor. After meeting one patient, we were informed of a new admission that we would be taking care of. I was able to listen to Emergency Department nurse give report to my preceptor over the phone. I had the opportunity to go with the charge nurse to transport the new admission from the Emergency Department to our unit. Upon our arrival back to SINU, we transferred the patient from the stretcher to the bed, performed a bed bath, and changed the patient’s gown. My preceptor hung two units of blood and once this patient’s blood pressure elevated from a systolic in the 50’s to the 100’s, the charge nurse and I accompanied the patient to nuclear medicine for a GI bleed scan. …show more content…
My preceptor talked me through the steps as I placed the nasogastric tube and pulled up the gastric contents for visual assessment. There was no blood present in the gastric contents, so we began to prepare the patient for a non-emergent colonoscopy as ordered by the provider. I was able to flush the patient’s central line and draw blood for a CBC. The other patient had respiratory distress and was exhibiting symptoms of ICU psychosis. This patient was very paranoid about anyone near the nurses’ station, and at one point the patient called 911 reporting that someone “has a gun pointed at me (the patient).” When the overhead intercom announced something, this patient also stood up and started walking down the hallway to “load the airplane.” According to patient self-report the patient had not slept all night. By the end of the shift, my preceptor had arranged the patient’s transfer to a step down unit with less