Hospital Clinical January 10-12

The first group of us (Claire S, Hannah, Courtney and Jenna) were in Mary Johnston Hospital located next door to the dorms for the first week. We started clinical at 6 am and ended around 2 pm every day.  A few of the days, we were together and some on our own with our Filipino buddies.  Below, we have summarized a few high lighting moments from each day in the clinical setting. 

January 10th 

Claire Stiff “Today I was in the Labor and delivery/postpartum unit praying that a mother would be ready to deliver a baby, but today was not the day for that. However, I got to bathe beautiful filipino babies for the first time. This was so precious! I also got to spend some time in the NICU holding babies and watching their improvements in health status.”

Jenna Sands & Courtney Schoen  “ For our first clinical we were assigned to the OR.  Courtney was the first to scrub in on a toe amputation while I observed.  After lunch we were moved to the ER due to the lack of surgeries that day.  In the ER Courtney and I had our first code ever and successfully revived the patient!” 

Hannah Taylor “The first day of our hospital rotations I was assigned to the labor and delivery/postpartum unit with Claire Stiff. Unfortunately, there was not a birth during our time there. However, we got to go to their neonatal intensive care unit and bathe a few babies who were absolutely adorable!

January 11th 

Claire Stiff “I was in the MICU (Medical Intensive Care Unit) where I inserted my first NG tube and cared for patients who were on a mechanical ventilator. The NG tube insertion was much easier than I had anticipated so I was happy with the turn out. It was amazing to compare the differences in the resources and materials we have at home to what is available here.”

Courtney Schoen “ Today I was scheduled on the OB/Labor and Delivery floor. This was one of my favorite days because it started out with observing a cesarian section because the mother had diabetes and the baby was large. It was 8lbs 1oz and a sweet baby girl! The rest of the day I got to spend in the NICU were I decided this was one of my top choices for a future career path.

Jenna Sands “Today I was scheduled in the ER.  I had to two codes early in morning, sadly one patient passed away, and then I got to experience cardiogentic shock.  The filipino nurses and doctors are calling me “toxic” as a joke of course; because I am attracting chaos where ever I go.”

Hannah Taylor “This day I was scheduled on the surgical intensive care unit. In the past I’ve rotated on an ICU, so it was interesting to compare/contrast my experiences. Within the first few hours of my rotation, ma’am Gladys came to bring me to the OR; there was a c-section! This was probably the most exciting part of my time at the hospital. It was such an amazing experience to be able to watch both a surgical procedure and a birth at the same time!

January 12th 

Claire Stiff “I was in the ER today where I inserted my first IV successfully (thank goodness). An ER attending gave me the opportunity to stitch up a patient’s laceration to the hand which was very cool since this is out of our scope of practice.”

Courtney Schoen “For the last day I was assigned in the MICU (Medical Intensive Care Unit). I was assigned to a patient that had a history of strokes and was at high risk for aspirations. I also was able to help patients with oral care and intermittent suctioning while the patient was intubated. To finish off the day I was able to watch an ultrasound done on the heart and a cranial CT scan.”

Jenna Sands “My last day I was back in the OR and was able to scrub in on a C-section and full assisted the surgeon!  I will never forget that experience and my first baby, whose name is Rainbow!  My second surgery I scrubbed in for was an laparoscopic appendectomy; which was amazing to see.  The surgeon let me suture the patient once it was all done!!” 

Hannah Taylor “My last day I was in the ER with Claire! I also got to insert my first successful IV (we don’t usually get the chance to do this back home since the hospitals have an IV team for med/surg floors). I also got the opportunity to watch a breast biopsy be performed; this is usually done in a clinic as a minor procedure, so it was something new that I had never seen! I loved being in the ER; this is a rotation most students don’t get to see back home, and it is definitely somewhere I could see myself working as a registered nurse!