study break...

Well...I got to observe surgery Thurs...all I can say is it was awesome :) But to make sure I'm complying with HIPAA, I need to state a few ground rules:

I will not tell you where my clinicals are at.  Anything I say will be very vague and nonspecific.  You won't get to know age and gender of the patients I mention and will get the barest details. I do owe these people their privacy when they so kindly let me learn from their experiences.

On to the fun part! I wake up at 0530 and drag myself into the surgery wing of the hospital.  Upon entering the staff lounge, I get caught up on everything that's going on in people's life. Our first surgery was going to be later than normal so we went to the cafeteria for breakfast.  During that time, I get to hear about stalkers, girls night, and things I won't mention on here. They were great people to spend time with. I learned what the nurse does before the patient even comes in. Before the patient even comes in, the nurse has to make sure all consent forms are signed. Any labs or tests the doctor ordered have to be be reviewed before the surgery can begin. It's the nurse's job to make sure all paperwork is in order and know what needs to be done before the patient even enters the room. When the patient comes in, the nurse helps the patient complete any paperwork and makes sure they understand what they're signing. While she did this, my student buddy and I took vitals and made sure the patient and their spouse were comfortable.  The nurse explains the procedure and tells the patient what to expect.  Then the doctor comes in and further explains the procedure and answers any questions the patient may have.  Every surgical patient has an IV in to help control fluid balance.  I later got to d/c this IV. We took the patient into the OR for their arthroscopy, which was a relatively short outpatient procedure and we had them out and on with their day relatively quickly after recovery. 

Next surgery...That's right, I got to watch 2! This one I won't say much of past it was a mastectomy. I got to get up close with the CRNA and learn about what he did and watch the surgeon suture the wound which was pretty awesome.  Unfortunately, I didn't get to spend much time in recovery with the patient as I was replaced by another nursing student to make sure she got to the med-surg floor.  I met with the other nursing student and we agreed to do different care plans and swap so both our clinical groups got to see what we did.  We had lots of fun and I made a new friend that day.  There's something about standing wide eyed in an operating room that forms a bond. :) I hope I'll be able to go see more.  Surgical nursing is an area of nursing I'm adding to my list of areas I'd like to do...I haven't mentioned this list yet have I?

The List:

* Oncology
* ER
* Surgical
* Psych (I haven't tried this one yet, but it sounds fascinating)
* Pediatric (See note on psych.  I'll update this after next semester)
* Flight Nursing

Yep, that's all I've got so far. I know it'll grow over time.  But speaking of time, I have a test tomorrow and a skit in the afternoon.  I have to study fluids, TB, COPD, perioperative nursing, ethics, upper respiratory infections, and admission, transfer, and discharge.  And find NCLEX style questions over cephalosporine.  Wish me luck!