Progress

When I had my internship at Mayo, I had an incredible experience that I was able to blog about. Before you read the rest of this post, let's do a Flashback Friday and read the post I wrote back then. http://lettucetomatoandmayo.blogspot.com/2013/08/all-of-summer-iiis-were-given.html

 

Finished? Ok good. Fast forward to this past week. 

   It wasn't my patient, but there was a situation on my floor that was eerily similar to my first code experience. It had been a quiet night so far. Earlier, I had noted that the nurses on my side of the unit were the three newest nurses on the floor. Also, it was our charge nurse's second or third night of being in charge. The nurse of this patient walked into the room to get vital signs, ran out and told me to call a rapid response. She yelled for us to get a breathing mask as soon as possible. The first time I called a rapid response, I was flustered and panicked and didn't know what to do. This time, I calmly and quickly gave the operator the information and then rushed into the room. 

    I walked in and the patient was blue. His eyes were bulging. I took a look at his monitor, and his oxygen levels were 10-20%. The next two minutes or so went by in a blur. I know that I yanked the removable headboard off the back of the bed and somehow got it under him in case we needed to start CPR.  I know that someone yelled for a code to be called. I know that I felt for a pulse and felt one. People were putting on oxygen masks and trying to wake him up. People came rushing in, but because he had a pulse, we didn't need to do CPR. Doctors, ICU nurses, residents, and respiratory therapy all were in the room. At this point, I made myself available, but the things I could contribute at this point were limited. 

    I walked out of the room and had deja vu back to my experience at Mayo. It was so similar, but I had handled it completely differently. The similarities didn't stop there. I looked over and saw the patient's wife. I went and sat down with her and held her hand. I once again was the one who was able to tell her that he still had a pulse. I helped her make a phone call to a family member and prayed with her until the chaplain came. 

    Afterwards while I was reflecting, I thought to myself, "We handled that pretty well." I told the patient's nurse that she had probably saved his life by responding quickly and appropriately. I realized how much I've grown in the past 6 months by how I was able to handle an emergency situation. Instead of watching everyone around me work together as a team, I was a part of the team. And yet I still ended up at the same place- holding hands with the family member and praying. And that's why I'm a nurse.