FINAL ENTRY: Placement 2 2010

Reflecting back on my initial entry for this placement it appears there were a few expectations that were accurate but there were other aspects of the placement that i had not considered.

Having the ability to interpret your objective findings and create an appropriate problem list was a must, as expected. This ability not only provided the foundation for treatment but was also how our supervisors judged our clinical reasoning. Needless to say it was a necessary skill to have.

Teamwork proved to be an important part of my placement. As per my initial inclinations, there were times where there were a lack of high priority cardiorespiratory patients and so you would treat patients together with another student. Furthermore, working on an acute surgical ward meant that patients had many attachments and so most of the time there were at least two of us working with the patient. Having the ability to manage attachments was something that I had not considered prior to the placement and proved to be an important skill.

I was right when I thought that I would not have the same level of autonomy as with my musculoskeletal placement. My supervisor needed to be sure that I was safe in regards to interpreting obs and with my manual handling before I was able to see patients on my own. As mentioned before I often needed an extra set of hands with patients which meant that I also had to be able to communicate effectively and take control of the situation at hand. I also found it beneficial having the support of my supervisor in the early stages. I felt more confident dealing with patients and it was great having a another person there to "bounce" thoughts off each other when there were alarms going off and a medically unwell patient lying in bed. I think if I didn't have that support early on it would have been too overwhelming.

I thought that I would need an extensive knowledge of pathology for this placement. This tended not to be the case for me because I was working on an acute surgical unit. Although I needed to have a basic understanding of some cardiorespiratory conditions what was more important was having a knowledge of the various procedures and how that surgery would effect a persons risk of developing a post op complication. I also needed to know the various protocols for each surgery.

Overall I have really enjoyed this placement. I have learnt a lot about how to deal with complex patients and prioritise them appropriately. I enjoyed the opportunity to work with other health care professionals and work as part of a team to improve a persons wellbeing. As I previously expected by the end of the placement I was managing my own caseload and running the ward and I feel that having that responsibility has progressed my learning immensely.