ICUintern

 On Monday I did an hour of research on nursing school and what to expect. I know that it will be hard work but it something I'm really passionate about. I know its different at every college for when you start clinical so I will be starting mine my sophomore year. Having the experience in the ICU has definitely prepared me at least a little bit for what my clinical will be like and I have had the experience of a stressful work environment over the past two weeks. Talking to some of the nurses throughout my two weeks was very helpful and comforting hearing that nursing school was incredibly hard, but is very rewarding now. 

          So far this week was just as good and maybe even better than the first week. I went into the ICU Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and I stayed longer than I had the week before just because there was a lot going on. I think this week gave be a better look at what its like being an ICU nurse and the best day was Tuesday when I was shadowing a 22 year old nurse because she had just graduated from college and had only been working for a year. I was able to connect with her better and she talked to me more about what her experience with nursing school was like and then she talked a lot about her first year as an ICU nurse.          The two main things Madi talked about most on how to stay balanced in life while working in the ICU was working out and having a meal plan for the week. Being in such a stressful environment the entire day or night is a long 12 hours and its draining. The days you have off are very important to get rest but to also get some exercise to release endorphins

 On Saturday, I watched a short documentary on Netflix called Extremis which is filmed in an ICU. This film was kind of hard to watch because it showed more of the sad side of the ICU, and the tough family talks. The main doctor was very negative and talked very negatively and with no hope that any of these people would live. However people can survive after being in the ICU, even if it's a low percentage of people. When the hard conversations were being had with families you could see the raw emotions and it gave you a better perspective on how the family feels and it makes you feel like if this were happening to your mother or father, your brother or sister, a spouse, or anyone who is very closely connected to you. It's the hard part of being an ICU nurse, but after my two weeks that didn't change my interest in potentially working in the ICU. 

 On Friday I spent some time researching on respiratory therapist. There was always one RT on the floor going around to every patients room and they are in charge of checking in on everything respiratory related to the patient. This could mean checking a patients trach or what exactly is helping the person breath. I wanted to learn more about what RT's do because I didn't shadow one. The main job of an RT is to manage the patients ventilator, do diagnostic blood sampling, and bronchoscopy assistance. RT's regulate more things but while researching on friday those were the most talked about in the job of an RT. I don't think I could see myself becoming a respiratory therapist, but I think it is a very cool job.

 On Thursday I didn't go into the ICU and instead I went on a hike. Some of the nurses I shadowed talked a lot about physical health like being able to get in exercise when they aren't working because being in the ICU is a stressful environment and can be sad at times. Exercises is a great way to release endorphins, and it also helps your cardiovascular health. Throughout my two weeks I saw some people with cardiovascular related problems and those people tended not to have the healthiest living habits, so I decided to do something to benefit my physical health after a stressful two weeks. I hiked Mt Kearsarge and I spent a lot of time at the top and the fresh air was so nice after being inside the past two weeks. After the hike I definitely felt better mentally and I actually felt less drained after the hike than before.

  Today I shadowed a nurse named Tori and she had two patients. One is a man who is very sick with covid, and he might not make it because he hasn't been making much progress. His wife scheduled a family meeting for today which Tori told me they may talk about letting him go which is very sad. Her other patient was a women who is battling cancer and is also just critically ill. I'm not exactly sure what her main reason for being in the ICU is but she is very very sick. Her husband has been with her every single day and whenever I am there he is always there too. I can tell how much he loves her and although he is trying to stay positive the nurses have said how he's gotten much sadder over the course of the past two weeks. Seeing him so sad was probably one of the hardest things for me to see these past two weeks because all of this doesn't really hit you until you see the patients family and how its affecting them.