PACU

-The responsibility of the nurse i followed was staying right next to the patient the whole time after she wakes up from surgery.
-The new knowledge i learned was that pain medication lowers heart rate and respiration's so nurses have to be really careful when they give it to patients.
-The best thing that happened was being able to take vital signs and really get to talk to the patient i was with.
-The worst thing that happened was not getting a Popsicle along with the patient!
-This week was GOOD because i really enjoyed learning from the nurse I was following.

The Technology i observed was mostly electric charting. The nurse also did this cool thing where she could plug in all the patients records to the exact spot she was going to be placed in the PACU so the nurse didn't have to re-input all the info.

The diagnostic procedures were very minimal this week because in the PACU its very therapeutic. I did see the patient had been previously diagnosed with high blood pressure.

The Therapeutic procedures i observed was the nurse providing pain medication to a patient just out of surgery. She also gave her a nasal cannula because she was having trouble breathing, and propped up the foot that was bothering the patient.

I didn't observe any diseases or disorders other than high blood pressure.

The only medical terminology i heard was " 0,4, 4x4. Aces and EBL". I know the aces was ace bandages for her ankle but that's about it.

I. My assessment of the environment was that is was almost eerily quiet other than the faint sound of beeping coming from all around the room. The whole room was completely open with the nurse's station in the middle and they could see all that was going on. All the nurses were very sweet and obviously caring people with quite a demeanor. The all had their own "cows" or computers for electric charting with they are constantly typing on. They also used this pyxis machine which read their finger prints before they could take any medicines.
II.All the nurses seemed to know each other very well and get along great. They all kind of share equipment so its necessary for them to be friends or at least get along. There's a definite team atmosphere when caring for all their patients. The therapeutic things i saw were mostly just pain relieving procedures and Popsicle giving.
III. I learned a lot in the PACU! it was cool to see on the electric charting thing that all the nurses could see when their patients came into the ER and all the medications they were on so they knew what preexisting conditions they had! I witnessed a lot of soft skills because the nurses all had to be very gentle and slow with their patients seeing that they had just come off anesthesia. The nurse also told me that if patients don't wake up within the first 15 mins of getting out of surgery that they call the anesthesiologist.
IV. So overall i think i learned a lot! I definitely learned that i am nowhere near quiet or gentle enough to work in the PACU but commend the people who can! I had a great experience and the patient who i was watching was from Brenham so i learned a lot about bluebell ice cream and sherbet punches! she was so sweet and really easy to talk to! But if i'm being completely honest it kinda felt like the nurse i was with thought i was a 5 year old. She spoke to me like i had no idea what anything was or how to even tie my shoes. It worked out in the end because she kind of over explained everything even though it was disrespectful.