The Eight Week Nursing 411 - Essay Example

? The eight week Nursing 411 has affected me in a variety of ways. These reasons range from the realization that I need to dedicate more time towards my school work than I am currently able to offer, to realizing that I have forgotten the reasons why I chose to become a nurse in the first place. The most influential experiences for me in this course were Florence Nightingale’s opinions on ventilation and warming of houses, Patricia Benner’s levels of nursing evaluations, the Vietnam War nurses’ stories of survival, and my experimental learning project. Each of these experiences had an impact on me, although in different ways. I had only made my way through a few pages of “Notes on Nursing” when I came across a select few pages of Florence Nightingale’s words that changed the way I thought. Nightingale mentions the five essential steps to securing the health of houses as pure air, pure water, efficient drainage, cleanliness, and sufficient lighting. After that, I felt embarrassed at the fact that I had previously always kept my house closed up due to some of my seasonal allergies. Also, I never opened the blinds to let light in or opened the windows to let fresh air into the house. In the section titled “Ventilation and Warming,” Florence Nightingale stated: “Even in health, people cannot repeatedly breathe in air with impunity, on account of it becoming charged with unwholesome matter from the lungs and skin. In disease, where everything given off from the body is highly noxious and dangerous, not only must there be plenty of ventilation to carry off the effluvia, but everything that the patient passes must be instantly removed because it may be more noxious than even the emanations from the sick” (Nightingale, 1969, p. 21). In response to this new information, my blinds and windows are now opened every day for the benefit of my three year old daughter’s health and also my own. Nightingale continues on by mentioning how nurses leave full urinals and full emesis basins at the bedsides of their patients. She comments that this habit is unhealthy and may have a long term detrimental effect on patients who are exposed to this on a regular basis. These thoughts caused me to reflect on myself as a nurse. As often happens, I tend to get so caught up in the internal business of the emergency department that I forget the little things that could make patients unhealthy. I now make sure that I always empty urinals immediately, no matter how busy I am. If I cannot take the time to perform these simple tasks, then I could no longer be considered as a responsible nurse. In reflecting on this, I was somewhat embarrassed by the neglect that I was displaying towards people in my own household and also my patients at the hospital. Working in the emergency department is quite tough, as I find myself feeling glum on a daily basis. There is always commotion going on, with patients coming in and going out amidst all of the noise. I often feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of patients and also the level of responsibility that I have as a charge nurse, triage nurse, preceptor, and mentor. I often wonder how I came to be in the position that I am currently in. Am I really up to the task or am I just an imposter who does not really know what to do at all? Reading “Notes on Nursing” and realizing the simple things that I was neglecting to do for my patients as registered nurse helped me to answer this question. After I felt like I was unsure of my abilities as a nurse, Patricia Benner’s “From Novice to Expert” restored my confidence to what it was when I first entered the nursing profession. I was able to recognize the strides that I have made over the last five and a half years and realized that I am, in fact, a proficient nurse and am extremely capable of accomplishing even more in my role as a registered nurse in my emergency department. “Proficient and expert nurses develop clusters of paradigm cases around different patient care issues so that they approach a patient core situation using past concrete situations. Past situations stand out because they changed a nurse’s perception” (Benner, 2001, p. 8). Often feeling worn off my feet and unappreciated by patients, I sometimes wonder why I continue to work in my department. After watching the films about the Vietnam War nurses, I feel as if I have been empowered to do more than I currently am. The Vietnam War nurses were sent to a foreign country in a time of war and cared for our soldiers, worked in hazardous conditions, and then came home to a situation where they were told not to wear their uniforms. They didn’t feel appreciated for the hard work that they had done for our country, yet some of these nurses wanted to go back to war. In response to this, I had to reflect on why I came into the nursing profession. The obvious answer was that I came to help people to the best of my abilities. I didn’t come into the nursing profession for praise and appreciation. There are many other career choices that cater to these needs. The reason that I came into the profession was so that I could make people’s lives better in their time of need. If Vietnam War nurses could endure all that criticism from U.S. citizens after caring for our soldiers on the frontlines, then I can endure some uncomfortable moments in order to make someone’s last moments on this earth more comforting that they would otherwise be. My experimental learning project was disappointing, and although I didn’t accomplish what I had set out to accomplish, I was able to reflect on where I had gone wrong. This experience will be invaluable for my future career. I had hoped to reach some sort of realization that floor nurses have a harder job than I had previously envisioned. This is not to say that floor nurses have it easy, but I was hoping to find intensity that I could relate to so that I wouldn’t feel angry when they refused a patient because they already had a new admission. In contrast, I learned a huge lesson from this experience. My response was to become a registered nurse in the emergency department. These nurses choose to work in their particular area for a reason. Even if I am perplexed at their decision, I must still give them respect for the sacrifices that they have to make on a daily basis. How can I continue to get angry at them because I am feeling overwhelmed, pressured, stressed out, and don’t get lunch breaks. I choose to stay where I am, even though I could leave and transfer to another department. However, I choose not to do this. I don’t care what other people think of me because I have the right to make my own choices, no matter how unpopular they may be. Nurses from other areas don’t have to understand my situation or sympathize with me. I have chosen to take responsibility for all my choices and I realize that I am the one who makes the choice to work in the environment that I currently work in. Nursing 411 was the fourth class that I took in pursuing my BSN. Although I have received high grades in all of my classes, this current semester has given me some doubts about what I had perceived as my future. The plan was that I would obtain my BSN and continue with my schooling in order to become a nurse practitioner. Unfortunately, I’m considering withdrawing from my next class and slowing down in my studies. This is because I have found that I am unable to provide my daughter with all the attention and care that she deserves. I am a single mother to a three year old who is almost four. I feel like my time has already passed and it is now her time to pursue learning, sports, and other extracurricular activities. Currently, I work 13-hour days and come home to a child who needs my attention, whether it is bathing, reading, playing, or just talking about her day. I find that I am not giving her all of my attention. She needs me to be there for her so that she can receive the best start to life that she possibly can. As it is right now, I am constantly stressed out about papers, discussions, and completing my reading assignments. My education is taking away from the most important thing in my life: my daughter. I will only ever get one chance to be her mother so I need to make the most of it while I can. If I receive a bad grade in motherhood, then I can’t retake the class. I am choosing to give my child 100% of myself. I am extremely unhappy in school and I feel like I can never relax. More than this, it is a feeling that my daughter senses too. I will attempt to finish out my semester to the best of my abilities. After this id done, I will plan to slow down with my schooling and take the extra time to be 100% emotionally and physically connected with my daughter. After taking this course, I to myself how I will be affected by it and what changes I will make in response to it. The answer is that I will be more attentive to my patient’s simple needs, such as keeping their room tidy, emptying urinals and emesis basins, and changing soiled linens immediately. I will have more security within myself and knowledge as a proficient nurse. However, I will not expect other nurses to be sympathetic or understanding towards my situation. I will remember that my situation is a reflection of my own choices and, if at any time I feel the need, I can always change it. Most importantly, I will remember why I became a nurse in the first place, which was because I care about people and their well-being. Read More