I know you all have been waiting with baited breath for my “going to rock your world” awesome clinical stories. I hate to disappoint, but there haven’t been any really earth shatteringly awesome experiences. Nonetheless, here are a couple of nuggets. I hope you’re not too disappointed.
• Had to irrigate the bladder of patient because of bleeding. Ended up having to put in 4 catheters because they kept clotting. Suffice to say, there were a few tense moments in that room that day.
• One of my patients had a broken leg that could not be fixed due to a hip replacement. Every time I came near the bed to do anything, the patient would say “Don’t you touch me.” Sadly for this patient, he/she had to be turned every 2 hours. After turning he/she would say “I don’t like you.” By the third day of caring for this patient, he/she’s disposition had improved when they said “I want to kick you when I get better.” I thought it was hilarious. The patient’s family kept apologizing.
• Had a patient whose heart rate dropped way too low for about a minute. The patient was a full code—meaning CPR with compressions, intubation, meds, everything. Naturally, when this occurred, I stayed with the patient and hit the call button and asked for the nurse to come down. I assure you, the time between asking the nurse to come, and the time he walked in the room was an eternity. Believe me when I say, the slower the patient’s heart beat, the faster mine did. Don’t worry everything ended up just fine.
• Had a little moment with some mucous. It happened the first day. I think I decided at that moment that old people were not for me—especially old people with no teeth. Got some good practice with some deep breathing exercises. Guess that one Yoga class I took worked.
• Had a teenage patient with Thyroid Storm. Actually saw a thrill (when the heart beats super fast and causes the chest to vibrate.) The patient’s heart rate was about 160 when sitting. Crazy awesome.
• On the last day of clinicals my classmates and I had this kind of experience in the elevator.
