Right when I stepped into the building of the telemetry unit on September 18, I was quickly introduced to Brea, my preceptor who has been a registered nurse for eight years, and I started helping patients immediately after! The first room we entered was an emotional one. Due to the rights of the patients in the hospital, I cannot disclose information about the patient, but I will tell you that it was very tough to see them so sad about their medical condition. I really wanted to help them but I'm not licensed to since I'm just a high school student. In this first room, I watched Brea give medication, insert an IV, and comfort this paranoid patient. She is a very sincere nurse and the patients seem to really like her!
In addition, I was lucky enough to see a PICC line insertion into a patient's arm as well during my first day. A PICC line, peripherally inserted central catheter, is inserted into the peripheral vein in the arm until it reaches the superior vena cava, a part of the heart. This line can remain in a patients arm for an extended period of time. It can provide a person with nutrition, chemotherapy, antibiotics and other medications. It was amazing to watch a doctor do this amazing procedure up close.
Brea showed me around the telemetry unit. She showed me the high tech drawer where they keep prescriptions in as well as the storage room where they keep sterilized utensils. Brea taught me about the protocol nurses have to follow while weening someone off an alcohol addiction as well as how to read the heart rate monitors that are set up in the front office. I also got to meet the other nurses that work in this unit. They were all very welcoming towards me and some even thought that I was a nurse in-training! They were surprised that I was only a high school student. Furthermore, the two hours that I spent during my first day working in the telemetry unit were very busy, but I enjoyed every second of it!
I plan to intern at San Ramon Regional at least two hours a week until fall ends, when I hope to intern at least 6 hours a week. Also, Brea is trying to get me to intern in the wounded care unit in the hospital since it involves dermatology, my dream career. Hopefully she is able to get me into that department so that I can meet dermatologists and observe everything that they do.
Moreover, I can't wait to learn more about the medicine through this internship and to experience what it is life to be part of this crazy field.
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| Prescription Medicine Cabinet |
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