Comprehensive Med- surg Reflections

As I reflect on my progress through this semester, I believe that I have learned and grown a lot from the beginning of the semester to compared to where I am now. I now approach each situation in the hospital with critical thinking by “putting the puzzle pieces together.” For example, I had a patient admitted for sepsis who had an EF of 75%, trending hypotensive BPs and presented with 4+ pitting edema. Upon finding the edema, I quickly thought of why this could have happened to the patient. I then assessed whether the patient was getting too much of the NG tube feeding solution or whether it was a result of CHF exacerbation. I then assessed for any other signs and symptoms of CHF exacerbation such as crackles, JVD and his current EF for that day, which I found out was 30%. Looking back at the situation, if I would have had this patient in my first semester, I wouldn’t have approached the situation as I did during that clinical day. I wouldn’t have gone into further assessing the edema and probably would just have focused on the patient’s over all general diagnosis and getting tasks done for the day. Based on my self assessment, I believe that I am ready to take on the role as a registered nurse. I now feel more confident with my assessment and interventions skills compared to when I was a first semester nursing student. As I get ready for my final semester, my concerns are passing all my final classes, networking with hospital employees that could get me a job at Cottage Hospital, applying and passing the NCLEX, and lastly getting a job as an RN. I have come such as long way and I have learned that nursing is more than just performing tasks,  but a mixture of compassion, critical thinking, and task completion to steer patients back into optimal health.