My first

First clinical and patient, ah the nervous train wreck that be.....

Note for my CI:

When introducing me as a first year student to my patient, would you please not add the "This is her first and you are her very first and she's very green" part? You know, the part that made the patient laughed nervously while looking at me with questioning eyes? Yeah, the part that reduced me into a nervous mess.

Okthanksbye,

Cee.

Anyway,

Upon picking up said patient the day before and discussing our assignments with fellow group mates, I immediately knew I was in for a rude awakening the next morning. Boy, was I right.

Pt. had been admitted for radical surgical procedures several days earlier and had a complication secondary to said procedures that requires another surgery to fix it the day after my clinical. While fellow group mates got a chance to shadow their primary nurse after their patient care was done, I did not because my patient required frequent check up and care due to the complication. Needless to say, my patient really worked me for those 5 hours.

Here's one thing I wondered about that day. One of my fellow group mates voiced a disagreement over my decision to help a tech with a patient next door to mine. My patient was resting and as I went out of the room to find my primary nurse--thinking that "Hey, let's watch some cool thing!", a tech who had helped me earlier approached and asked for help with a patient next door. I obliged, thinking that "Hey, making an occupied bed! In a real hospital! Not in lab!". Then, as I was finishing up, the tech had helped the patient into the shower and while doing so, the tech got called out and as you can guess, asked me to help the patient with the shower. In which, as you can guess, I obliged, thinking "Hey, assisting pt. with ADL's!".

My judgment is that, as a first semester nursing student, I need to get as much experience as I can. We all know we're doing the tech's job descriptions such as vital signs, bed bath, making beds, hygiene, etc. on top of giving oral medications and injections. Hence when the tech asked for help, I agreed to do so, especially when it didn't interfere with my own patient's care. I had told my pt.'s family member that I was next door and she could find me there should my patient needs anything.

However, this fellow group mate thought that I shouldn't have helped the tech because the patient next door wasn't my assigned patient and I shouldn't do it again next time. On top of that, I was disappointed to hear her say that if I keep helping the techs than the techs won't do their job and will impose it on me. Am I naive to think that she made a ridiculous stereotype and judgment? I know for myself that I'm not too nice to let the techs ride me over with their requests that I'd neglect my patient or miss a chance to watch/do other skills, but this was one time and dang it, fellow group mate, what is your problem?!

Was I right in my decision to help the tech? Or was I supposed to find my primary nurse instead to see if she was doing those skills that this fellow group mate appeared to deem higher than making bed and assisting pt. with his ADL's?