Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Today was another day of just running around, touring different units. Today we visited Radiology, the SPA, 4^th floor (Trauma), and the NICU. We also had our first in-service which was taught by my first rotation supervisor, Amy. It was all about lines. PICC lines, Central lines, IVs, Ports, etc. It was really interesting and answered a lot of questions. I knew about lines, but they are still confusing but we got to see each one, touch it, and learn about it, so I think I’ve got them down.

We started out in Radiology with our internship supervisor, Alana. We jumped right in with an IV start on a preschool aged patient. It was really neat to see how she was able to distract the patient and keep the patient calm. The hospital uses different types of numbing stuff such as a J Tip, Emla cream, Freeze spray, etc. They are really cool and very effective. I got to see a J-Tip used for the first time today. 

After our in-service, we met up with Brenda and took a tour of the SPA. Here we were able to observe a dressing change on a baby. It was cool to see how just being supportive and blowing bubbles can help a nurse get the job done. The patient was very upset, but as soon as the procedure was finished, the child life specialist got the child to playing again which is very important. The patient got to popping the bubbles and playing with the toy remote. It was a positive experience after the awful one that was experienced.

The last thing we did today was visit the  NICU. This NICU is the largest private room NICU in the nation!!! That means every bed they have is a private room. Guys, that just doesn’t happen. Ever. It was phenomenal!!!!! We got to observe the CLS and the artist in residence do some legacy activities with a patient and the family. They took really cute pictures of the baby’s feet and their hands. The baby is so cute and slept through the whole thing. It was really neat to have that experience and it makes me want to do my free week rotation in the NICU. I may have to fight one of the other interns for it!