Foundation Program

I am in my second week of foundation program and posted to ward for clinical posting (my second day). i feel welcomed by all the familiar faces who remembered my name! (and i forgot theirs... shame on me)

I had the chance perform intravenous cannulation supervised by SSN Boon. I am lucky that I have a cooperative patient and  experienced supervisor. i am not put in a 'stress spot' and i managed to get the 'flashback of blood' when i try to move slightly further in. This is my first and successful attempt. I feel more confident now for my remaining 4 competency requirements. Good luck to me.

DISC test

DISC is the four quadrant behavioral model based on the work of William Moulton Marston Ph।D. (1893 - 1947) to examine the behavior of individuals in their environment or within a specific situation. DISC looks at behavioral styles and behavioral preferences.

DISC is an acronym for:

Dominance - relating to control, power and assertiveness
Influence - relating to social situations and communication
Steadiness (submission in Marston's time)- relating to patience, persistence, and thoughtfulness
Conscientiousness (or caution, compliance in Marston's time) - relating to structure and organization

I had done this test during nyp school times. We were all amazed by the result because it was so accurate! During our trip one day , seowling talked about the DISC again. I remembered I was a "S" person. It was so true that "S" people is introvert and they usually mask their true emotions. In other words, whether these folks are experiencing a great deal of personal strife or just won the lottery, their behaviors offer few clues to their inner feelings. (This is also why we tend to get misunderstood by people without us knowing why). The plus side of "S" people - These folks have a need to serve and help other people (they get energy from serving). The High S tends to be very loyal and they prefer the status quo to sudden change. This loyalty causes them to maintain business and personal relationships for long periods of time. People who are low on the S factor would tend to be more visibly emotional people, prefer a faster paced-environment.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DISC_assessment
http://www.discreports.com/S.html

Chinese Steamed Bun (Pao)

I just awared I had eaten 2 pao(s) today - one for breakfast and one for tea break.

I remembered a NYP lecturer once shared with us that during her nursing time, nurses are very 'pantang ' about eating pao. They believe that when a nurse ate pao, they'll have pao (also means wrap) dead body in their respective work area.

Luckily nothing happen in my ward today. Else, I swear will stop eating pao again whenever i am work. (haahaa!)

XiaoLi

She was given a nickname Snow White in the ward because she has a fair complexion and she is pretty. The first time i met her was my first day arrival to ward. She was attached to ICA side.

The second time, i accidentally toppled her left-opened bottle of Lactulose while trying to push her medicine trolley slightly out so that i could make space to put the clinical charts. I was thinking Oh my God, sure kena scolding while clearing the mess and apologising. She handled the situation rather cool though. Did not vent her anger. Explained simply and shifted her focus back to medicine serving again.

And today we happened to be in the same ward as Juniors. I got to know her better. I like her easy-going nature. Communicative and not shy despite her petite size. Firm when handling patients. Know-her-work.

The day w/o my preceptor

I am afresh to work today after i had a 12hrs sleep.

Today i was kinda nervous initially because my preceptor, mummy foo is not attached with me in the same room. I tried my luck informing the sister hoping she'll re-allocate but mission failed.

My day passed by quite smoothly other than one patient's became not arousable and noted by a doctor just in time. Several nurses came over to assist and was later transferred to ICA. I ended up with taking 4 cases, instead 5. (My in-charge follow-up)

I think i am lucky that today i worked with nice nurses - Lino(SSN), Lina(SEN), Samuel(PRCP student). It was my first time working with Lina. She projected to me as a good nurse role model - she knows her work well, perform task efficiently(foresee what is needed next and do preparation), caring to patient as well as colleague(she told me to see my report while she doing changing herself) and most importantly is her attitude. I like her.
And of course, not forgeting Lino, who is helpful to guide me for the day and with Samuel around, i feel i have a 'kaki' together.

PRCP - my first night

This is my very first night shift at ward. I want it to be a memorable one, that's why i am having them type down in my blog.
I arrived at ward 9.10pm and discovered that i am late! (well, i thought start work at 9.30pm)The staffs were nice to wait for me before passing report...
Working night means having more patients to jaga. I am assisting at B2 M-side + half of room patients. It was quite challenging, managing with non-compliance patients who tried to get out of bed by themselves despite repeated warning, elderly who repeatedly claim BO but there isn't, AMS patient waking up middle of night and doing new admission at the same time.
I like the night ambience, quieter with less traffic. No difficulty with searching for equipments and the staffs are nice to help keep a watchout for each other's patients.
Now that i am more familiar with the night routine, I believe my second night i will be a more organized and efficient one :)

Simulation: Patient with impaired conciousness requiring tracheostomy care

Me, LinFung, Evelyn and Siti (ICU nurse) are the nurses of this simulation of the day. I prepared myself by reading up to familiarize about brain injury, jotting the important points in the management of an unconcious patient and visualize how the atmosphere will be like, crisis that may happen etc...

On the actual simulation, we're all very tense(internally) but we maintain cool and calm. We took a little long time to plan a list of things to do and distribute the tasks. In the event of crisis, i think i could have anticipate more.

These are the key guidelines:
1. Know your environment
2. Anticipate and plan for crisis
3. Assume leadership role
4. Communicate effectively
5. Distribute workload optimally
6. Allocate attention wisely
7. Utilize all available resources (incl. info)
8. Call for assistance early
9. Maintain professional behavior