Just an observation

I was out walking the other day when I happed to take a photo of the building above. While it is now a private house, the lettering on the side reads “Miners Accident Hospital, 1883”. Two things immediately struck me. One was the thought involving the NHS, and tunnelling out from the financial crisis (it’s be 2 year FFS!).

The other was how while we in the NHS are told that the idea of there being specialist hospitals that will be designed to provide care in the community as if this was a new and innovative idea, here was an example of this from 1883. You can almost imagine a person having a broken leg outside the gates whit the matron walking out and saying “You broken your leg?”
Person: “Yes”
Matron: “You a miner?”
Person: “No”
Matron: “Oh, well bugger off then!”.

My 2007

This is the end of the year and the end of my time as a student is drawing near. It will be another 29 days until I will be officially finished as a student Nurse (in case any of you were ever bothered I was/am a student at the University of Teesside, Middlesbrough). So, given that not only is this the end of the time as a student, I am also at the end of the year 2007. So, what was 2007 for me?

January
Nothing remarkable for the first half of the year as the first week was spent on annual leave. The second week was the return to the final placement of second year (Critical care placement) in the ICU. The week was spent with patients on my three shifts (though I cannot recall much now what happened). The week after was my final tripartite for second year. This I passed, I remember being very nervous about the second year one, and was sent out to a cardiac arrest in the hospital with the arrest team and thought that was less nerve racking. The 2 weeks after was on my elective with the North East Ambulance Service NHS trust. That was enjoyable.

February
The first 2 weeks were study time and I prepared my portfolio. They went in on the 19th and I started 3rd year. This was a time when the attitude changed with the university toward the student groups (from “oh, don’t worry you are only a student” to “Right, your managing bays and other students when you go out next”). It sowed and I remember I ended up being late two days thanks to traffic (some did not even make it in to university). I met my girlfriend this month.

March.
The portfolio passed this month. Not a lot to report for March.

April.
The semester continued with the addition of the independent learning module coming online. There was no a lot to recall, I did have a weekend in York with my other half, and records suggest I had the blog by now.

May
I was asked to hand in an essay and this was worked on while I queried the MITS which had been applied for. This was met with a stern look and a mark of 30. That was not good. Some of the modules drew to a close as the final seminars were had.

June.
I was kicked off the course due to the 30 mark for the essay from second year. Thankfully, I still had some old paperwork and approached the student union with a view to appealing against the decision. It was agreed that I had a case and the assessment review was put in. I immediately started looking for work and was accepted for employment in a call centre. I also joined St John Ambulance.

July
Back on the course on the 3rd. I got the letter which while written on the 3rd only reached me on the day I was being asked to go into the university to meet with the pathway leader and 3rd year module leader. This went OK and I agreed the date’s to submit essays (3rd August). The essays were worked on, till one module asked for submission on the 3rd which was not originally intended. This took some sorting out.
August

A new placement was on the infections disease and diabetes ward. This is well document on the blog.

September
The placement was worked through and the essays all passed. One later needed re-submission though this was the one which I was asked to write in less then a week.

October.
The internship placement began in a old division. I did get a bit downhearted by this at first by slowly it did get better

November
The tripartite and nights dominated this month

December
The application for jobs started in earnest this month as did attending st john ambulance duties having passed the members first aid course.

My return

Hi! Been away for a bit. It has been a combination of being tired, being away with my other half's house, and having the internet connection go down.

Well, what have I been up to. Well, lets start with the post I wrote for the last shift I was to write about:
My rapid reaction

The day began with me working ona new bay area with a different nurse to usual. The patients were OK. Two of them barly had time for me to say "Hi" before the theatre porters turned up and whisked them away to theatre for surgery. At 07:40, they really were early! That left me with one patient who was re-admitted afew weeks ago, one who I recall being verbally abusive one night to me, two post op patients and three patients in the bay next door. I began with the medications round. There was noting to remake for the first hours save for an early ECG on one of the aformentioned three who was feeling a bit unwell. Nothing showed on the ECG, and to be honest they were feeling OK by the time I had got the ECG monitor (which was about 5 minutes altold). There was a break taken (which is when I usually have my breakfast on a morning- porridge oats to keep me going through the day).

Shortly after making the beds, the bey was given a new admit. The patient as OK at first, and was seen by the doctors on the ward round. I had been in with another patient (can't recall now what it was), when I did my check of my patients. The new admit was looking a bit off colour (pale) and was was sweating and felt feaverish. I went and grabbed an ob's machine, and put on a pair of gloves. I was glad I donned the gloves. While there was a nomal temp, the blood pressure was below 60mmHg systolic! No wonder they felt unwell! Now, as I was in a bit of a hurry, I did the ambulance service trick of scribbeling patients obs onto the gloves (with the time noted as well!). I then went direct to the nurses station where my staff nurse and a senior nursing sister were going through some documents. I said interuppting them "Can you help me with the new admit. They are not well, BP [less then 60mmHg], Pulse is [reading] and resps are [elevated figure] (n.b. actual figures witheld for confidentiality- this is my musing on what I was doing after all!). Anyway, the on call registrar (or whatever they call them this week SpR, ST1, FTSTA3, GHTYS, RHAY4, XIOTI, OR ZYZZYX).
Anywho, the patient was sent back to the department. It was during this time where I did several things I was happy with. 1) Taking an accurate manual BP, and 2) being able to talk to and reassure the patients relative and explain to them what was happening to the patient at the bedside.

Anywho, that aside there has been over two weeks in which I have passed two essays and I worked with the ward sister who was very happy with my work, got sent home off one shift last week for having a massive coughing fit less then 5 minutes after arriving on the ward (bit annoying as it takes me over an hour to get in first thing in the morning!) and have now finished for the festive period.

At the moment I am applying for jobs in my local area in the fading hope I may actually get a job. Not that that is exactly something I personally feel positive about. I have been thinking about the armed forces perhaps, though the Navy require 2 years post reg, the army and RAF are a bit less strict though not sure whether they are more after part-time postings. Oh well.