While getting ready for my clinical this afternoon, I started thinking about the differences between how I prepare for clinicals and my externship. What better way to illustrate the difference (and similarities) than to lay them out side by side. Here we go: Read the rest of this entry »
Archive for the ‘Externship’ Category
How Many Miles?!?
15
Jul
I went out and bought a pedometer the other day. Nothing fancy; just a run of the mill pedometer that tracks total number of steps/total miles walked. I really don’t care to know how much (I guess I really mean how little) I walk during the average lazy summer day. No, I wanted to know how much I walk during a typical shift in the ICU. Read the rest of this entry »
Getting to Know You
08
Jul
I’ve spent some time working in the PCU the last couple of weeks. It’s just a short hop down the hall from the ICU, and the two departments are constantly swapping patients that are either getting better, or unfortunately getting worse. One of the best things about working in the PCU is that the patients are usually able to have a conversation. As you might suspect, this can be both Read the rest of this entry »
In Search of the Big Picture
30
Jun
I had a brief but informative conversation with one of the nurses during an externship shift last week. We talked about what it was like for a novice nurse when they get out of school and begin working. There’s a world of difference between what you do in school and what you actually do as a working nurse, and it is common for the novice nurse to become Read the rest of this entry »
A Nervous Wreck
20
Jun
I’m really enjoying my time in the ICU, but I must confess that most of the time I’m a nervous wreck. It’s amazing how everything that you “learn” during school either goes out the window, or doesn’t apply in the real world. What’s a bit frustrating is knowing that this feeling will not be going away any time soon. It’s really strange being in “learning mode” all day long. It seems like every new skill I acquire Read the rest of this entry »
