Pediatrics!

My first day in a children's hospital and my first pediatric patient!  So far so good.  My first patient was a teenager, really sweet and cooperative.  In the first few minutes I was on the unit, I could see major differences already from the adult world.  First of all, the unit was huge!  Large, never ending hallways.  Everything is very colorful as well.  In the lobby, there was a collection of toys and an infant bouncy seat.  One thing that caught me off guard was how quiet it was.  I made mention of that later in the day and my instructor quickly told me that is exactly when things get crazy, when you mention how slow or quiet it is.  Point taken.  Another big difference was the first interaction I saw the nurse have with my patient.  She went into the room and started doing a quick assessment in the dark and whispering.  I was told from a previous student to always remember that you are in a hospital, not a hotel.  I brought this up with my instructor and she explained in the peds world, we are a little more forgiving.  Maybe a parent is sleeping at 7am (when the shift starts) and that parent has to go to work in a bit.  Maybe the child hasn't slept all night and is now finally sleeping.  My instructor summed it up this way; at the start of your shift, eyeball your patient, if he/she is sleeping, check to make sure you see a regular respiratory rate, pink lips and that the child is safe meaning side rails are up if they are in a bed.  On that same note, if you have a teenager, they would sleep all day, so at some point, you wake them up. 

My nurse was friendly enough, but anytime I asked if there was something I could do for her she said promptly, "nope" and would walk away.  I got the impression she was not in the mood to be teaching a student.  Hopefully that was just a bad day and she will feel better next week OR I just won't be paired with her again.  The other students had kids of various ages.  I saw some kids who looked pretty sick, some who had been in an accident and were on the mend.  When I walked by one room, I saw a little guy sleeping and he looked so innocent and peaceful.  Why do kids look so angelic when they sleep?  It makes me want to hug them!! 

I successfully completed day number one, well I hope I was successful.  We do not have to do care plans this rotation (hooray!!) just a few sheets to fill out during the day and then just a one page summary of all that we did emailed to our instructor before Thursday.  She so kindly said she will probably respond with questions and feedback.  Great ;)

I am off tomorrow so my plan is to get as much info in my brain as I can before my parents arrive!  Hope this goes well!!