girl in greenwood

I'm officially done with orientation at my new job. Last week I spent two days shadowing a nurse and two days caring for one patient pretty much on my own. This week I've cared for 2 patients on my own for a couple of days. I'm off tomorrow, but when I go back, I'll be practicing the team nursing concept. It will be kind of like being an LPN, I think - I will be teamed with an RN, and we will be assigned a larger-than-normal set of patients. For example, if a normal patient load for one nurse is 5 patients, my team would be assigned 8 patients and I would take 3 of them, or something like that. The reason that it needs to be a team effort is because my employer doesn't permit nurse techs to handle IVs, like, at all. All I can do with IVs is assess IV sites and troubleshoot the pumps.

I feel like I'm starting to get the hang of it... I'm doing a decent job of taking care of my patients, and I know where most supplies are and what the usual routines on the floor are like. Of course there are things I can work on - that will never end, I'm sure! I think the first thing I need to do is create a brain sheet that will help me stay organized better.

I'll get my first paycheck later this week. I think that will be the best part. Being a broke student is frustrating!

Labels: nursing, work