1st clinical on rehab...

rehab clinical today...went well but i was a little bored. my patient was an older lady with osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis, post-total hip arthroplasty (she had a prosthesis put in). i hope i'm as healthy as she is when i get to be her age...it seems like a lot of the patients i've had have diabetes, are obese, and have other conditions stemming from poor nutrition. i asked what her secret was and she said it's important to eat well...no fast food and very little sugar. i'm pretty much screwed.

it was hard trying to get my assessments done and give her pills to her in between her occupational and physical therapy sessions, but i finally got them done. her doctor came in while i was getting ready to give her the meds. she was oriented x3, but when he came in she said, "hello Father!" (he did look a little like a priest because of the way he was dressed), which made us laugh. the other nurse made a joke about his head getting even bigger. he was really good with her, and i asked him about the vitamin D she was taking. (she's a big believer in vitamins). he was really patient with my questions, but i wasn't expecting him to start grilling me about her other meds...he wanted to know what her last INR lab value was (1.93), what it should be (2.0-3.0), why she's on Coumadin (prophylaxis of blood clots because of her immobility relating to her hip surgery), and what vitamin shouldn't be given with it (vitamin K, because it's the antidote and will counteract the Coumadin). my brain froze when i realized he was putting me on the spot, but eventually it started working again...i was blushing because i was embarrassed, but at least i managed to spit out the answers. =)

i'll have her again tomorrow. i enjoy talking with her, but i wouldn't mind a little more of a challenge. my group will be on rehab again next monday and tuesday, and i think i'll pick a patient who isn't so independent. i like the adrenaline rush of being busy, and rehab is pretty mellow. it's not quite as mellow as a LTC setting, but it's definitely not acute care either. at least with rehab, the patients usually always get better and go home.

jen just called...she had her clinical in the ER fast track, which is staffed by LPNs and PAs, and designated for colds, stitches, shots, headaches, and other non-emergent situations when other clinics might not be available. just listening to her made me jealous, but i'll get there in the beginning of march. i love hearing stories of the ER...she was telling me about debriding an ankle wound almost 2 inches deep. gross, but interesting (to me, at least).

i caught up on the three episodes of grey's anatomy i'd dvr'ed a while ago. i don't know if i could handle working on peds, especially after watching the episode where the little boy almost dies from liver failure. i talked to one peds nurse when i was working as a pharm tech and asked her how she liked it. "you get used to little kids hating you..." she was joking, but it would be hard taking care of sick children who don't understand that you're trying to help them. i really shouldn't say i don't want to work in peds until after my clinical on that unit, so we'll see...