Critical Care

Yesterday I had my Critical Care Observation at Spartanburg Regional Hospital, in Spartanburg, SC. I was so tired when I woke up. I rode with a group of people who were also going to Critical Care and we had to leave campus at 5:15 AM to be there by 6:15 AM! Spartanburg Regional is a huge facility. Our clinical instructor told us that they have never torn any buildings down, they have just kept adding and updating over the years. I was assigned to do my observation in the Cardiovascular Recovery Unit (CVRU). I shadowed a nurse named Cindy, and she was awesome. She had worked on that unit for 19 years and had been preceptor before. She was very friendly and outgoing, and introduced me to all the nurses on the unit. I helped her take care of two patients, both of whom had had heart surgery. After her initial assessment, she let me assess them and listen to heart, lung, and bowel sounds. One was still highly medicated and had to be fed through an NG tube. I had never really worked with an NG tube, except for in lab. She allowed me to give him his feeding and medications through his NG tube, things I had never done before. The other patient was fully awake, but had three chest tubes draining fluid, he also had severe edema or swelling all over his body which made it difficult for him to move. I was able to give him his medications through his IV and monitor his chest tube. She volunteered all kinds of information on both patients’ medications and the skills we were performing for their care. She also asked me questions that made me think and allowed me to learn through my right and wrong answers. I was able to learn so much, and I was only there for 4 hours! I really enjoyed my observation in critical care, and I made sure to thank Cindy for being such an awesome nurse to shadow. I honestly wish that she could be my preceptor! It’s amazing how much the nurse you shadow can affect your whole experience.