Shift #4

My fourth shift was on a Sunday, which was much calmer than previous shifts. I worked towards my SMART goal #5 by taking 3 of our 5 patients. This was more challenging than I originally thought it would be. I was able to give all medications on time and do all needed interventions on time. However it was difficult to remember to do the unscheduled things, such as looking at vital signs that the CNA recorded and looking up lab results that were drawn throughout the day.

I also worked towards my SMART goal #2 by taking a patient that had electrolyte imbalances. A lot of his lab values were different than what I have learned about in school. He was on chemotherapy for cancer and so different things caused his electrolyte imbalances than I have learned about. For example his WBC went from 17 to 34 overnight and I immediately became concerned about an infection, but my preceptor educated me on one of his medications that caused that jump in lab value. I have learned that lab values can be varied by more than the tradition ways we learned about.

One thing that I did this time that will help me in my future nursing career is coordinating with the CNA and delegate tasks. I feel like that is one area that I am nervous about. I am currently a CNA and I know how busy my job can get, so I don’t want to burden other CNA’s with more work. But I do know that effective delegation makes everything flow better and helps the patients get the best possible care.