First day of clinical with a patient

I figured I would kind of Journal/post here about my experiences, and see how they line up with everyone else.

Today was awesome. I am coming from a background completely void of any health care experience, so I was a bit apprehensive about today! Last night we went in for our pre-clinical research and I obtained as much info as I thought was necessary. It helped today.

I was very excited to have a patient that was "AAO"x3 (new abbr. for me). I did not have to do a bed bath, she was able to ambulate to the bathroom and she preferred to care for herself. I did help her with her back, so I was still able to assess her skin.

I was also able to chart vitals before and after activity. She was on 3L of O2 by nc. She wanted to walk, so I got the portable O2 and we took a walk around the floor 2 different times. I assess her vitals before and after each trip. I thought that was great because I was able to see immediately if the intervention (walking) was appropriate or if it caused her too much "stress".

Next week is our first Practicum, so no clinical next week, but I look forward to the next one.

Sounds like you're getting a handle on assesment so far, esp. with the vitals.

Just to be curious, if your patient had become 'winded' or weak while ambulating, what was your back up plan?

'Cat'

There were several chairs on the floor (it is actually an orthopedic floor) and we would have stopped for her to rest and then returned her back to her room. I could also have gotten a walker, or if she was so weak she couldn't have stood, I would have gotten a wheelchair.

I did assess her prior to walking, like it wasn't like she just Jumped out of bed. Every step was paced...from sitting all the way up (she would cough alot) to placing her feet all the way on the floor, to standing, to walking. None of the steps were rushed.