2nd November (Sunday) - 1,2, ARGHHHHHHHHHHHH! Sunday is supposed to be fun. No OT, not much admission. Nothing. I thought it was going to be like one of those Sundays where you just care for your patients. This is one of the time where I really loathe Sundays. The same lady patient, can call you several times in a row just for small things, like adjusting her bed (Someone didn't do the orientation properly???) and well, you know, really small things that sometimes makes you go "I got better things to do than helping you adjusting your bed..." Because today is a mad rush. HDU was crazy because one of the patient was extremely restless and from yesterday when I took care of him, he kept trying to pull his CBD tube from his you-know-where, tearing at his needles, from his hand and neck alike, and ripping at the nasal prongs that I put for him because his saturation was poor. Ohhh, I spent half my day taking care of him because the moment you just leave him for a second, he kept tearing at things, ripping at his dressings, or... as I witnessed, ripping his sarong off to expose his privates. I kept putting the blankets and sarong back neatly for him but he just kept exposing them. And we got two female patients in the HDU. Ohhhh, I closed the screen of the opposite side so that the ladies can't see him exposing himself, but left enough opening so that the outside nurses can see him as well in case we were too occupied. Thank goodness my Sputum C+S is there, after explaining to the patient many times the importance of the specimen.Yes!
The restless patient nearly went into an arrest. Apparently, he stopped breathing few times. !!! All of us jumped and were getting ready with the Emergency Cart when the patient breathed again. After several grim discussion, two anaesthetist came and brought him down to the OT for some procedure. I hope he's okay. He's an okay patient, just restless.
RU/PU for one patient due at 11 : Failed. Wound cleaning for one of the patients, ditto. I did the dressing on my own, and I felt proud of myself. The thing that made me mad is why did people leave povidone iodine stains all over her skin. Having applied povidone iodine on myself many times, I know how it feels. The sticky, hard stain that clings to your skin like stiff clumps. It's a good thing I soaked my cotton balls and didn't squeeze it too dry (Thanks to one of the senior staff's advice - If it's too dry, then you'll have a hard time trying to clean out the hard bits-). This allows me to dampen the area and using several gauzes, I rubbed back and forth to get the thick clump of iodine off. Some people sneered at me for wasting my time trying to get the sticky iodine off, but the patient was grateful and thanked me for taking my time and cleaning her wound. I was supposed to do another patient's dressing but his is complicated, which involves several thick rolled gauze soaked thoroughly in water and pack with a soft gamgee pad. The wound? Scrotal abcess. I saw the wound briefly and nearly flipped. HUGE. I'm not going to describe it hear otherwise you may get put off from...whatever you are eating.
I followed one of the profs and I panicked so bad because I was a little slow at giving him the gauze and he told me off. I'm sorry, prof. I'll work faster in future. He got 4 patients, 2 to off CBD, 2 to off drain. Because today is crazy. Everything rested upon my shoulders, because as some of the girls put it, "Your patients. You deal with them." Ugh. No time for seniors to observe anymore. This is time for me to stand on my own. Armed with my basic concept and following their technique, I successfully completed all four tasks. As the prof put it, "If you get it wrong, girl, I'll kill you." (I made sure to double check every one of his orders before I let him leave, I'm not going to run after him like a maniac since there's too many things to be done) I wrote down each charges after each room, ran like crazy to the billing department, asked them to charge the equipments used, and dashed back to charge my other patients. At least, I am confident enough to do simple off drain and wound cleaning now, just need a lot of practice and be creative with how I dress the wound. A thick gauze covered with op-site plaster? Window dressing with a thin gauze? That's up to you to decide. ^^
A brighter note is I ran into my old patient's relative. (I was so embarrassed, I can't remember his face until the relative went, "You know, the cataract one. You helped us with the wheelchair.") It was a patient whom I met only once. He had cataract problems so he needed someone to help send him down with the wheelchair and there I was. Holy cow. I can't believe it. I asked him how the patient was and he said sadly, "Not good at all, sister. Last time it was just one eye, but now it's complication on both eyes." Oh no. He's admitted to the government side and is getting treatment now. Poor sir, just like my old patient, Ojii-san. Stay strong, sir...
I forgot, when I was having breakfast, I ran into a real live troupe of Scottish dancers, with kilts and bagpipes and drums. Wowee. Too bad I can't take photos cause I was rushing for work. Awww. I was hoping to listen to their Irish jig, maybe. Wait, are Scotland and Ireland the same??? O.o
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