Done and done. 5 straight days of 0630-1430 shifts is finally over! No more need to wake up at 0430 and roll out of bed by 0500!! It's funny how I've been slowly getting more tired as the days went on, but I've also been sleeping better than my usual, lol. I'm waking up less in the night and falling asleep quicker. Hopefully, I can keep this up and finally correct my poor sleeping patterns!
The week was fun... and the shifts were actually quite interesting and productive for the most part. I was working at the Rockyview Hospital Day Surgery helping admit patients to the OR and keeping an eye on patients in recovery after their surgeries. So, mostly, I took vital signs, asked about allergies, medications and past medical histories and started IVs and helped the nurses wherever I could. It was quite neat. Talking to the patients before and after surgeries, helping them get prepared for their surgeries or just chatting with them was great. All the nurses were nice and very helpful.
And I did about 30 IVs over the week so I think I'm over the fear of giving IVs now, lol. My technique was good (so I was told) but then again, this is a controlled environment where we have the luxury of equipment and time to find a nice vein to start an IV on. So, if I have good veins, then I can get a good IV start (95% guaranteed... some people have veins that just collapse or a valve might be in the location where we start the IV). However, I've been having difficulties seeing veins that are 'hidden'. Apparently, you're supposed to be able to see a hint of blue where the veins are under the skin... but I can't see it cause of my color deficiency... so... I need to train myself to see what others can see easily.
Next up: Final Exams... so practice, practice, practice tomorrow... Newberrys are here on Sunday, so I guess I'll just relax on Sunday so that I'll be mentally alert and ready on Monday. And after that... Ambulance Driving Course and the Ambulance Practicum.
No comments:
Post a Comment