Thursday, September 9, 2010
first day of clinicals!
Today was the opposite of what I was expecting! I came in really nervous for the unknown and stressed for the 8 hour task ahead of us. I even decided that my goal was going to be getting over my fear of talking and responding to a patient. But getting there and meeting my patient changed my mind immediately! I know this will never always be the case, but I found it really easy to talk and start a conversation and ask questions to someone I've never met. We spent breakfast together, went to the hair salon, and attended an exercise class. My patient was very independent but also very willing to share with me her stories! The one thing I found difficult was to initiate taking the vital signs. I was reluctant to get in my patient's personal space, and afraid of hurting her frail arm with the blood pressure cuff. All was well in the end, but getting over this fear was something I hadn't expected. I plan on practicing taking vital signs with more and more people, so next week, this won't be a problem.
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I had the same fear about my patients arm when I was taking their blood pressure. I thought that I was really going to hurt them, but I knew I just had to do it, and it would only take a short time and I would be done. My patient didn't mind at all that I was new and trying to practice on her. Even though it probably wasn't the most accurate BP reading, I still think I was able to do a pretty good job. It will just take some more practice and getting used to dealing with strangers and getting into their personal space.
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