The VA
In what may have been my best clinical day to date, I changed exactly one bed, took one set of vitals, and one other patient's blood pressure. And yet I still managed to fill 8 hours. I've given up trying to learn anything from the clinical, which is probably a bad thing, but how many times do you have to make a bed/give a bed bath/take a blood pressure/walk in circles to say that you've mastered the skill? I was trying to think of anything cool that happened on our floor that I'd like to learn to do and drew a complete blank, so now I just need to make it through two more days without giving the instructor cause to fail me.
I did have the best patient today - he was the absolute highight of my quarter. He's the guy with the herpes lesions from last week (it was herpes zoster by the by) and was apparently feeling lots better since he was dressed and in a chair by the time I met him in the morning. We started chatting about his day and his research which currently involves watching movies to determine whether homosexuality is genetically determined or an individual choice. This wound into a discussion of the Momon religion's views on the subject, then on his own personal history wherein he just came out of the closet a couple of years ago after the death of his wife. After covering his kid's reactions to the event, I managed to take his vitals (one of the three things I did today), and then the conversation picked up at his literary studies in Chaucer. He quoted Middle English for me and described the language of Chaucer's time and then we discussed my own favorite author (Oscar Wilde, of couse) and the recent film about his life (OW's life, not the patient's). I left at that point to get some clean linens so that I could change his bed (thing of the day #2) and upon my return we reviewed the healing powers of nature, the color purple (not the book, but the actual color which happens to be a fave of both of ours), and educational theories of the day. When I interviewed him about his skin integrity he reported "honey, I'm in bliss rather than blisters" and on popping back in his room to ask if I could bug him with just one more question, he remarked "I don't wear women's clothes, if that's what you're going to ask".
It's well and good that I can have such a grand ol' time chumming with my patient, but it still seems like the clinical experience at "the Number One Nursing School in the Country" as we're constantly reminded should be a little more than Chaucer chit-chat. At least one of my classmates has remarked that she actually likes the clinical and enjoys the interaction with the patients, which makes me feel like a bit of a heel, since of course I've got no beef with the guys. But would it be asking too much to see an actual RN at work for a change?
I did have the best patient today - he was the absolute highight of my quarter. He's the guy with the herpes lesions from last week (it was herpes zoster by the by) and was apparently feeling lots better since he was dressed and in a chair by the time I met him in the morning. We started chatting about his day and his research which currently involves watching movies to determine whether homosexuality is genetically determined or an individual choice. This wound into a discussion of the Momon religion's views on the subject, then on his own personal history wherein he just came out of the closet a couple of years ago after the death of his wife. After covering his kid's reactions to the event, I managed to take his vitals (one of the three things I did today), and then the conversation picked up at his literary studies in Chaucer. He quoted Middle English for me and described the language of Chaucer's time and then we discussed my own favorite author (Oscar Wilde, of couse) and the recent film about his life (OW's life, not the patient's). I left at that point to get some clean linens so that I could change his bed (thing of the day #2) and upon my return we reviewed the healing powers of nature, the color purple (not the book, but the actual color which happens to be a fave of both of ours), and educational theories of the day. When I interviewed him about his skin integrity he reported "honey, I'm in bliss rather than blisters" and on popping back in his room to ask if I could bug him with just one more question, he remarked "I don't wear women's clothes, if that's what you're going to ask".
It's well and good that I can have such a grand ol' time chumming with my patient, but it still seems like the clinical experience at "the Number One Nursing School in the Country" as we're constantly reminded should be a little more than Chaucer chit-chat. At least one of my classmates has remarked that she actually likes the clinical and enjoys the interaction with the patients, which makes me feel like a bit of a heel, since of course I've got no beef with the guys. But would it be asking too much to see an actual RN at work for a change?
posted by Imle at 9:38 PM
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