The First Experience with Death...

I want to be more personal because your first death is going to be personal, no matter how hard you try to make it professional and there's nothing wrong with that.

Nobody can really prepare you for your first death, not fully. It does help to hear about someone elses experiences first though, so hear goes...  My first death occured on my second placement, there hadn't been any on my first placement because it was a planned surgical ward so people who came in were there for elective surgery and therefore not too ill. Anywho, my first experience with death. This patient, let's call him Mr X, had been on the ward for a while and was gradually deteriorating. He had been poorly for a long time but he was always happy to chat and was in great spirits at all times. Everybody (including Mr X) knew that the end was coming so we were all trying to get it sorted so he could go home and have a peaceful and quiet death. One morning Mr X seemed to be in really high spirits, I had looked after him and helped him with his breakfast, he was happy because he was meant to be going home that afternoon. Unfortunately at about midday he took a turn for the worst, and I held his hand while he died, his wife had been rung to tell her that he might not make it, but she didn't make it to him on time. Me and another student, along with my mentor gave him his last offices after his family had spent their time with him. Last offices is where you wash a patient and wrap them up ready for them to go to Rose Cottage (the mortuary). It helps to talk to the patient through the process just to preserve their dignity and make sure everything is done as best as possible. I didn't cry whilst giving Mr X his last offices but it really affected the other student. This goes to show that no 2 people will have the same experience with death, whether it's their first or their twentieth death. I was thanked by his family for being there while he died and later on that evening I got home and cried until I couldn't cry anymore. It really affected me when I got home.

If any other Student nurse/ nurse/ healthcare worker has an experience with death that they'd like to share i'd really love for you to share it in the comments. I think anyone who hasn't experienced it can gain a lot from hearing about someone elses just so that they know how they're reacting isn't wrong. A third year student told me how she dealt with it when someone died on her placment and it made me feel like less of a wimp.

Some People...

This placement that I'm on is definitely the best out of the 2, but sometimes it's so busy that people seem to forget that you're there to learn. This week I feel as though I've been sort of used as a health care assistant, which isn't helping me find things to put into my CAP (Continuing Assessment of Practice) document. I'm finding this week really difficult, my mentor just doesn't seem to have any time for me at the minute. He's a very busy man but it really isn't helping with my confidence in this assessment. I'm sure that by next week I'll feel a lot better but at the minute i'm just not feeling it.

I'd really appreciate if any student nurses (or anyone else) who are reading this blog could pass it on to other student nurses and start commenting on the posts if you have something to say. I'd love to have some feedback and hear some experiences on here. Also i'd love some ideas at what you guys would like to see me write about, if there's anything you wanted to know or discuss i'd be happy to try my best to have a go :)

Wish me luck on the next few weeks!! :)

Everyone is nervous on their first day...

As a student nurse your first placement, especially if you've never had any clinical experience before (like me!) will be nerve-wracking! Luckily most nurses on the wards will remember what it was like to have once been a student. I'm now on my second placement and have decided to start this blog as an aid for other people who are either in my position or soon will be.
We just received our first semester results and I am so relieved to say I passed everything, I was 100% convinced that I had failed everything. Honestly, if I can do it, anybody can. Not putting myself down but in that first semester I wasn't the most hard-working or dedicated student, but I managed to realise that I had to give it my all and it paid off.

I'm now on the 3rd week of my second placement and I'm sort of starting to feel like I belong on the ward. However, I will never get used to having my nails cut like this :

As you can see since I'm on week 3 I already have some dry parts from washing my hands so frequently. I'm definitely not going to complain about doing that before it has to be done for the safety of the patients. It would be dangerous and selfish to not wash your hands as much because they're not as baby-soft as usual. Another thing that was hard for me to get used to was getting up at 6am. This is a time that in my life time, before I started placements I very rarely saw. (Unless I'd had a verrrry good night the night before!) So if you're worried about getting up and being so tired that you can't work. Don't be. Anybody can adjust to getting up at an earlier time, I even managed a night shift on my first placement although it did throw me off my pattern for a few days. I'm going to sign off now as I have a fair bit of work to do before I go to bed at 21:30! (See? Being sensible since I have to get up at 6am tomorrow)