ICU 2/13/15

Report

1. Responsibilities: Retrieve medication, give medication to patient, check vital signs, assess patient.
2. Knowledge learned: Beta blocker is a medication that regulates heart contractions and slows down the heart. 
3. Best thing: I was able to learn about some medications and about different patients who were there.
4. Worst thing: Seeing the condition of patients, and being told how one may not survive much longer even though she is young.

This week was : GOOD

I was able to learn a lot, and the nurse i shadowed was very nice and actually taught me and explained things.

Record

Technology Observed:

In the ICU I observed basic technology. I saw the Pyxis which is where you get medication. I also saw the vital signs machine and how the nurses chart.

Diagnostic Procedures:

The nurse explained to me what had happened to the patients. One patient had a stroke. The nurse would explain to the patient what medication the nurse was giving him.

Therapeutic Procedures:

The nurse gave medication to the patient through the IV for pain. He also gave the patient medication to reduce the patient's heart rate. 

Diseases/Disorders Observed:

There weren't really any diseases or disorders that I saw. However, one patient had a stroke. You could tell half of his face was slightly drooping.

Medical Abbreviations:

There was only one Medical Abbreviation that I came across. The nurse talked to me about "a fib" which stands for atrial fibrillation. 

Journal

     Walking into the ICU I thought it would be like the PACU; however, it was very different. Each patient had their own room, and it was pretty calm and quiet. There were no nurses at the nurses station, and all of them were walking around, tending to their patients. The nurses provided the patients with medication, and made sure that they were doing well. The equipment that I saw was the Pyxis, which held the medication, and the vital signs machine. 

     The ICU was not clustered at all, and very organized. Ever drawer and cabinet were labeled with what they held. The health care professionals wore blue scrubs and worked very quickly. They helped each other with charting, and they also helped each other get medication. There was one new guy there who did not really know how the hospital's software worked, so the nurse I shadowed and the new guy would communicate on how to work it. Whenever the nurse put new medication into the IV, he wore gloves as a safety precaution. He told the patient what medication he was using, and gave him antibiotics, betablockers and pain killers.

     Going into the ICU I did not know much. I knew they dealt with patients who were in pretty bad condition, and they tried to bring them back to full health. I learned about some of the medication that was administered to the patient I observed such as a beta blocker. This medication regulates heart contractions, and it makes the heart slow down. The nurse told me that the patient needed this medication because of "a fib" which is a medical abbreviation for
atrial fibrillation." 

     The nurses in the ICU were very willing to teach, and they were very kind. I enjoyed my time there, and I actually learned some stuff. I learned about some medication, and also about some patients that they see in there. I learned that to work in the ICU, you have to be a strong person and really want what is best for your patients.