Day Surgery- March, 27, 2015

Report

What were your responsibilities or duties this week? 
  My responsibilities included being professional and observing the nurse I was following. I was to be respectful and considerate to the staff and patients.
What new knowledge or skill did you learn this week?
   I observed an admission of a patient and what to ask for during admission. I also learned about the consent of the patients.
What was the best thing that happened at the unpaid work-based learning site this week?
   I loved that the nurse I had was actually trying to teach me things and explain the best that she could. All I heard were bad things about Day surg so it was nice that it wasn't that bad.
What was the worst thing that happened at the unpaid work-based learning site this week?
   The actual admission wore me out. I was just kind of standing there watching a nurse ask questions and I started yawning and I felt so bad because the patient could see me. 
If the "worst" was a mistake, how was it corrected?
   I should have asked questions as the admission was happening but it seemed rude. I also probably should have gotten more sleep than I did the night before.
This week was FAIR. Why?
    It wasn't exciting, but it wasn't terrible or boring by any means. I learned a lot, just not about what I was interested in. 

Record

Technology observed: Charting was mostly observed. I got to see the insertion of an IV which was pretty neat.

Diagnostic procedures observed: The whole admissions process is diagnosing the patient. Questions like past medical history, conformation of drug use, consent, and last intake were asked, along with vitals.
Therapeutic procedures observed: The nurse was very sweet and to the point about most of the procedure. She tried to be quick and timely, but also tried to get things done so she wouldn't disturb the patient.
Diseases/disorders observed: No specific disorders or diseases. The patient was having the surgery for abdominal pain and also had a lot of weird allergies and previous surgeries. 
Medical terminology/abbreviations encountered: IV- intravenous
ECG- electrocardiogram

Journal

Day surgery is where most people go from PACU. The surgeries only are for the day (if you couldn't tell by the name) and really most of the nurses prep for the presurgery part of things. The rooms are smaller than ones that are found in Med Surg; probably because of the short stay. The day surg office is right next to the PACU so they can just roll the patients out when they wake up. For the most part, the only thing I really saw was the admission of patients.
   The staff is independent. Most of the nurses get patients on their own, without the help of the other day surg patients. All safety procedures are followed and everything is sterile because of prep of surgery; avoiding the transmission of diseases is key to keeping infections little to none. The patient I was working with had been in many surgeries before, which honestly could have been inferred from the list of things she had allergies to and the amount of meds she had been taking. Really sweet and funny, just not the best of medical experiences
    I saw the admission process of surgery patients which includes the insertion of IV, consent forms, and the double checking of allergies and current meds. My nurse was very direct and to the point and did most of the computer work before she went in. She felt it was rude and useless to do it while the patients were in room (didn't really understand that). The med terms used were nothing I hadn't heard before so. Day surg isn't the place for intense action; it's pretty relaxed for the most part.
    The patient I was observing was the one I had met in the elevator which I thought was pretty funny. In her allergies she did have "drinking alcohol" listed, which the nurse and I thought was odd. When asked, she just said alcohol (vodka, rum, wine, etc- not rubbing alcohol) made her break out in hives. Educational value wasn't really that great. Most of the stuff she was trying to teach me was stuff I had already known- bless her heart. Professional value was good because it showed me how to act and respond and handle patients on a personal level.