I made it through week one!

               Well, I made it through my first week of acute care! And, by day three I really have started to like it. Today we had orders to go treat a cardiac patient in the ICU. I was so excited! It was a co-treat with occupational therapy as well, so there was quite a crowd of us that went. Throughout the week my CI has been easing me into more interaction with patients, but in this instance I didn't really get to help much. I was so excited because the patient was a cardiac patient and also had a lot of different lines, tubes and drains. I wasn't taken aback by any of it because I remembered everything from cardiopulm and was ready to rock and roll. Unfortunately, all I really got to do was sort of help with keeping the lines under control, which I know is important! But, I was really dying to get in there and help the patient with standing and everything. (Later this afternoon I told my CI I am ready to jump in and do more, but that I appreciated that she allowed me to get accustomed to the hospital this week; I like to learn by first watching and then doing, so it has worked nicely for me, but I am ready to DO!! She was really receptive to this and I feel like we are both on the same page, so I’m looking forward to the coming week!)

                I haven’t gotten my log in information for the electronic documentation, but my CI had me hand-write my notes while she typed them and then we compared. I have been doing pretty well with it. Basically, I am definitely including all of the important details and just need to work on being concise and writing everything clearly. My CI told me she would much rather that I write more than necessary and then edit then not have enough, so it has been working out well. One thing that I am struggling with is keeping track of time. We have to document the time that we spend reviewing the electronic medical record, the handwritten chart, the actual treatment time, and the amount of time we spend documenting. I am doing well at remembering to write start times and not so good at remembering the end times! I think that I will get better at this though, it’s just a new thought process that I’m not used to yet. 

               I am glad that I am really starting to appreciate and like acute care! I’m excited for what the next 9 weeks will bring and how much I will learn from my CI and all the other staff.