Thursday, March 12

ICU update

The ICU is going great! I should have moved there years ago. I am in week four of my orientation. The hardest part about it is being full time again. That is a huge adjustment for me! Another hurdle has been health issues. In the first week Wyatt got RSV and I had to leave to take him to the ER. It was really scary. He progressed really quickly. The ER doctor told me that he would be admitted to the hospital if he wasn't going home with a nurse and an EMT. They really don't do anything for RSV anymore due to evidence based practice these days. What they would do in the hospital we could do at home. All we could do was nebulizer treatments, suctioning and Tylenol for fever. He turned around very quick. I was amazed. Now, in the beginning of week four I got Strep throat. I don't think I have ever been so sick. I never knew strep throat was this bad. I had a fever of 101.9*, chills, and I head a upper chest cold as well. Let me tell you I am a huge fan of Penicillin now!! Charlie started to have symptoms so he got antibiotics as well. He came home with a fever of 103*!! Who needs work in the ICU when I have one at home?!?

Here we go- What I've learned so far:

-What it feels like to breath through a ventilator. We got to be hooked up to one for a few seconds. Let me tell you it's like breathing through a straw!!

-I hate phlegm. Every nurse has their thing they hate. Mine's phlegm. In ICU we have to do oral care at least every 4 hours when some one's on a ventilator. It helps to reduce ventilator acquired Pneumonia (VAP.) And the ironic part is that both my boys are phlegmy boys!

-2 critically sick patients can keep you busier than 4-5 non critically ill patients.

-Ambulate, ambulate, ambulate!! If the patient can walk assisted or by themselves, make them at least 4 times a day - even if they're 6 hours post heart pass!!

-Breaks are overrated!

-Knowing where a drug metabolizes and excreted from the body is really important.

-Lab values are not just for doctors.

More to come later. I'll try to do week by week. ha ha!!

1 comments:

Jeremy and Barbara Green said...

Breaks are overrated?! You must be a workaholic! :) Glad to hear you are liking it there!