My Nursing Education

My Experience in E.R.

Nursing/Medical Surgical 222

By Nancy Taji

Upon arriving at the emergency room at 8:00 A.M., I was greeted by a nurse at the desk who asked me if they could be of service. I explained that I was there to a make up clinical day with a staff nurse who was also an instructor at Henry Ford Community College Nursing Department. They assigned me to Sam, short for Samantha. She was a very kind woman, who immediately began to show me the ropes. The first thing that she showed me was how the rooms were set up. As it turned out the rooms were arranged in a circle from one to seventeen. There were only a few rooms open at this hour. She explained that the midnight shift was very busy and that many of the patients currently have been there since late last night. She began to show me how the E.R. charts were put together and the trail of paperwork that had to be followed. It seemed rather confusing to me. I could immediately see how things could get quite crazy as more and more patients were to come in. The first patient we went to see was a young woman in her early thirties who had come in because of chest pain. Sam asked me to do an assessment on her. I greeted the patient and performed a complete assessment as taught in nursing school. Sam, then showed me the med room. What I found very interesting, was that the med cart was activated by fingerprint identification. “Wow”, I said. “This is definitely, high tech stuff.” Sam agreed. She said that this is the type of med cart that you would frequently come across when working in a E.R.. The cart was computerized so that it counted the meds each time one was programmed out of the cart. The E.R. doctor was very gracious in explaining to Sam and I the purpose in ordering a dose of magnesium for the patient. I have to say that I couldn’t understand all of what he said other than that magnesium helped women that were in labor as well as helping the heart muscle. Sam asked me to prepare the magnesium. I had to draw up the magnesium from two vials and then inject it into a I.V. fluid so that it could be given. Sam and I went back into the room where I hung the magnesium I.V. on a pump, while Sam gave her something for pain.
I soon found my self separated from Sam. Though, I am not sure how this exactly happened. I believe that it started when one of the other E.R. nurses asked Sam if she could show me how she wrapped a frost bite burn. So off I went with another nurse to see how this was done. She went into a room where a gentleman was lying on a stretcher, looking rather disheveled with his bare feet sticking out from the covers. The nurse pointed out several of his toes that were a dusky blue. “Not a good sign”, I thought to my self. The E.R. doctor came in just prior to the nurse wrapping his toes to evaluate his condition. “Not bad, you must have some good circulation”, the E.R. doctors said to the man. The man replied in a not so concerned voice as he sipped a cup of coffee, “do you think I’m going to loose them Doc?” The doctor replied, “We won’t know just yet, let’s wait a while and see how this warming blanket works.” After the doctor left the nurse began to wrap the mans toes by first applying Silvadine ointment and then wrapping them with gauze. When she left the room, I decided to say a while longer and talk to this gentleman. I asked him if he a place to stay, when he leaves the hospital. He replied that he did not have anywhere to go, that the last place that he was staying in, which was a shed was no longer an option. This was because someone called the police on him, and the police asked him to leave since there was no plumbing or heat. I thought to myself, “so it’s against the law to stay somewhere that provides shelter, but if it doesn’t have hot and cold running water, you have to live outside.”. I bent down to pick up his clothes that had fallen on the floor and put them back on the chair only to find they were wet to the touch and extremely dirty. Pity filled my heart for this man. He asked if he could have some more coffee, stating that he was a coffeeholic, and that he could sit here all day and drink the stuff. Funny, how something so small like a cup of hot coffee could make someone so happy. Realizing that I couldn’t change the world, I briskly walked over to the coffee pot that seemed to have a endless supply of coffee in it at all times and poured the man a cup. After that, I just kept the cups coming. I moved on to several other patients, completing assessments the best that I could, and passing my information to the nurses and E.R. doctor. I had a feeling of some autonomy while I was in the E.R.. I’m not sure if that was a good thing, seeing that I was there to work directly with Sam. However, I knew that she must have been keeping a close eye on me, of which I was glad. It made me feel secure. All in all it was a good experience for a student nurse. There were a couple of very intense and emotional moments that took place while I was there that day, but I feel that I cannot write about them since they are too fresh in my mind and elicit some very strong feelings. The emergency room is a place were an experienced nurse can apply her expertise and still gain knowledge. I felt very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with Sam. She is a special individual.

If you have the desire to go into nursing, then you must first get ready to take the N.E.T., the HESI or the TEAS entrance test. You can begin preparing for your career by practicing your skills using the online tutorials and tests at The Nurses Learning Center. There are over 1000 questions and answers. You will get unlimited internet access, 24/7. It is yours to keep. New questions are added daily. It’s like sitting for the N.E.T., The HESI or the TEAS in your home.

So You Finally Passed The Nursing Boards

By Nancy Lydia Kimmel R.N., Ph.D., C.H.M.M.

Congratulations! So you finally passed your boards, and now you are a real Registered Nurse. How does it feel, to have passed the final test of all tests? Great? Absolutely! Now what? Well, to begin, you need to celebrate. There are many loved ones that are also looking forward to taking part in the celebration. After all, they were your support through those trying years in nursing school. They stood by you, through your highs and lows. Yes, there were those low points. But now, it’s over. Now begins a new chapter in your life. No longer are you a student nurse, or a graduate nurse, you are a REGISTERED NURSE. Yeah baby! Did you know, that now you can actually practice anywhere in the United States?

The horizon is endless and you are in the driver’s seat with an unlimited gas card. Before all of this wonder and responsibility actually sinks in, it is time to do something nice for yourself. Do something that you have always wanted to do. It doesn’t have to be extravagant, nor does it have to be something that is going to break the bank, although there may not be much in the bank at this moment. It is the small things that can mean the most. Here are a few suggestions, go out with those special people in your life to a restaurant that you have always wanted to go to, spend a couple of days at a local hotel that has a pool, spa, and amenities for kids and adults, treat yourself to a manicure, a pedicure, a makeover, get your hair done, buy yourself a new outfit, go to a car dealership and test drive the most expensive car on the lot, but be sure you stop at a drive through gourmet coffee stand so that everyone will see you in your ride, go out to a park and just spend the day there, paint a picture, go out to the theater, or simply stay home and spend quality time with the ones you love. You have many things to talk about. Now you can let your guard down and speak your mind about all of the challenges in nursing school and how you managed to actually get to this point in your life. You need to vent and whether or not you realize it; you have stuff to vent about. It is a relief to be done with school. It was not an easy road. You put in many clinical hours doing the work of a Registered Nurse without pay.

You faced many personal challenges and challenging personalities. The frustrations that you had to overcome must be vented, because you overcame them all. Not everyone can make the journey to Registered Nurse. Remember, you did, and that is really a life accomplishment. Yes, you really did pass the NCLEX.. Those forty eight hours of waiting for those two words to show up on the testing web site, PASS, or FAIL,was more than anyone could stand, but you waited, with fear, anticipation and excitement, but probably more fear than excitement. Then to finally find out that you PASSED. Wow, talk about a rollercoaster ride. It’s over in less than one minute. You read the words on the computer screen, ” PASSED”, and then you draw a blank, as you sit there staring at the screen. You feel like you’re going to cry, no, laugh, no, just sit there in utter amazement wondering how you did it. Then it sinks in, minute after the next, and you say to yourself, “hey, I am an R.N., a Registered Nurse, a real Registered Nurse.” But you’re still not sure, until you actually get your license from the state. Wow, talk about paranoid. Yes, we all are. Your licensure from your state will only take a few days to arrive.

When it arrives, you see the number, it’s your number, so yes now your are for sure now that you are an real REGISTERED NURSE. Take time to let it sink in, go over all of your hurdles, look at all of your books and remember how many hours you put in studying day after day. The journey to becoming a Registered Nurse was a grueling and arduous road. It took courage, perseverance, patience, self control, time management, self sacrifice, diligence, fortitude and above all the love of helping ones fellow man, and yes, you did it. You are now in the ranks of one of the most noble professions, one that challenges the mind, soul, body and spirit, and one that never stops giving strength when you can actually see your efforts bringing forth wellness, dignity, and health.

Your true learning will soon begin, and you will experience nursing in all of its facets. Life is of course a learning experience, and you still have so much to learn. With all of that said, take some time, look at yourself in the mirror and say, “I like me, and I am proud of myself and of my accomplishments!”, and so you should be. You stand in the ranks with

those who came before you and laid the foundation on which you now stand such as Florence Nightingale You will also make your mark in the history of the nursing profession. But right now, it is time to celebrate.

Be Well,

Best of Luck

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