So we’ve hit the home stretch! I’m starting my final placement tomorrow but I’m not as nervous going out on prac this time around. I think this may be because I really enjoyed studying cardio during the last few years so hopefully it will be just as enjoyable practically! In my last placement, I was lucky enough to experience some cardio-respiratory jobs such as suctioning through a trachy and neuro tactile stimulation techniques and I have to admit that clearing airways was one of my highlights at SCGH. I do not think that Cardio in Fremantle Hospital will be easy though. There are so many aspects to cover in cardio and I don’t know if I will be seeing ICU patients or post surgery patients or general medical cardio/thoracic patients. Will I be dealing with acute cases where monitoring blood gases will be very important or will I be helping maintain airways with breathing cycles and sputum clearing techniques? I’m very keen to use the techniques we’ve learnt over the last 3 years at uni and increase my knowledge on this subject which I have a lot of interest in.
My expectations for this placement include doing a lot of auscultating and being able to interpret the results and choose the correct treatment. I’m not too sure on what patients I will be seeing so I could be expected to perform a variety of treatments including mobilising the patient, teaching deep breathing exercises, suctioning, drainage/ventilation positioning, vibes/percussion, ‘bagging’ a patient or even just monitoring a patient’s O2 sats.
This hospital is another tertiary hospital like SCGH so I’m expecting the same busyness of a big hospital. I’m glad to be working again in a multidisciplinary team as I enjoy the interaction between the allied health teams and also going on ward rounds. Maybe I’ll even get to see some cardio surgery!
Concerns I’m having at the moment are my auscultation skills and interpretation of specific tests such as ECGs and ABGs. From previous placements, I’m fairly happy with my interpretation of thoracic X-Rays but I think on this placement I’ll be seeing a lot more complex cases. This will be interesting to listen to and then compare what I hear to the X-Rays. Improving my timing of assessments and treatments has been a person goal for myself for this whole year and I will continue aiming towards developing a speedy yet thorough examination of my patients on this prac. Other concerns include remembering precautions for specific surgeries and diseases, being safe when ambulating a patient for the first time post op, being able to explain exercises in simple terms and clearly for the patient and also just having enough treatment and general knowledge for this placement.
Over the last three placements I have found I’ve learnt best when someone’s demonstrated the task first then watched me perform it. I’ll be informing my supervisor of this so hopefully they’ll take it into account so I can get the best learning experience I can from this prac!
I’m really excited about starting tomorrow and having a blast over the next 5 weeks!
Let’s hope this last prac is just fun and challenging as the last 3!
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