#IRON WK 7-8, I'm still breathing- Routine for nurses in the ward. @ 鳳梨芒果都不行

Hi there, I'm allocated to an orthopaedics ward that made me very anxious as I'm a medical nurse, however, 2 weeks later, I'm still breathing. As a surgical ward, it is very fast and busy. People come and go. There could be 8 discharges and 5 admissions in a day. So just need to speed up yourself. Work is more like running on a treadmill. The ratio of nurses to patients is about 2:8~12 , depending on the number of discharges.

AM shift:

07:00 Handover from the nurse in charge

07:30 Bedside Handover from the last shift Time planner

08:00 Meds run

09:00 Personal hygiene (May need to shower patients, depending on their mobility) Bed making Tea break for 15 mins

10:00 Care plan/ risk assessment/ discharge/ ward transferring

12:00 Meds Lunch break for 30 mins Documentation

14:00 Meds / hand over

My reflection (pros and cons) :

(^o^)

Stress realise

I like the design of "break" here. Although it's a very busy day, you still can have your break. My mind is fresher and relieved from being away of the environment stress. Education Most of the patients are trained to be independent here.

Rights of the patients

The patients are very involved in decision-making. The explanation of every procedure is conveyed very well. Patients sometimes have better knowledge than you on medicine.

High quality of the dressing

Very rich and expensive dressing on the stock. Looks like it's free for them, unlike we always have to charge extra to the patients in Taiwan.

Discharge coordinator

Assist the patients for further health care

$5 meals + unlimited hot chocolate for employees

ε≡≡ﾍ( ´Д`)ﾉ

In contrast, I'm not fond of personal hygiene part as I don't really expect this would be a part of RN role. In my opinion, we have 1:1 Nursing assistant/ personal carer in Taiwan, so the patient can maintain better personal hygiene. ( But I suppose different hospital has different policies)

Handwriting orders

Sadly that I can barely read the order and other handwriting documents. I really need my imagination, but most of the time it just doesn't work. Ppl say doctors hand writing is universal lol , is that true?

Non UDD system

Most of the medications are stored in the drawer next to the patients or on the stock in the drug room. It is already hard for me to read the orders, the medications are always on a different brand or generic names. Non UDD system can really cause administrating wrong medication incidence for new staff.

IV route can be IV(intravenous) or IF (Intravenous infusion)

You need to check your med books!

My uniform

Overall, it's a whole new practice for me, and I do really enjoy it so far. :D I just need to build up more knowledge and experience to fit myself in the industry.

4 more weeks to go! To be continued.....