Posts

I never expected to grow as much as I did in this clinical experience, and this is only the first one. If I wasn’t already in love with the nursing profession, I am now. It’s definitely not always pretty and people may not always thank us, but it’s all worth it in the end. Starting out, I was always nervous and wasn’t always sure what to say or do, but the fact that I can confidently walk into a patient’s room, introduce myself, and apply everything I’ve learned thus far absolutely blows my mind! I have yet to really run into any awkward moments, so I’m hoping I’ll be put into those situations to start getting used to them. Some of my favorite moments in clinical were the times where I was able to laugh with my patients because I feel like that’s something we forget is appropriate, depending on the situation. It makes me happy knowing I made them smile despite their current situation. I have also improved my communication skills with my nurse. I made sure that I expressed any concerns for my patient, I reported to them when something was abnormal, and I made sure to ask plenty of questions when I wasn’t sure about something. In future clinicals, I hope to improve on my skills by practicing them in the lab. I’m also looking forward to practicing giving report since I have only received report once during my experience on the floor.

Tomorrow, I go into my third clinical. Two clinical rounds have come and gone. If there’s one communication challenge I still face, it’s coming up with what to say when the room goes silent. I feel as though I’m incompetent whenever I’m not saying anything to my patient. As far as non-verbals go, I have trouble figuring out how to come across confident and show my patient that I know what I’m doing. Thankfully, I don’t feel as nervous going into my patient’s room anymore.  I have yet to come across any awkward situations, but I’m sure those are right around the corner. I believe my issue is not preparing myself for what I’m going to say and or talk about when I enter my patient’s room. As for my body language, I’m still unsure of how to present myself in a professional manner. I know we’ve talked about it in class, but I have yet to find a comfortable position for myself that still makes me look competent. As for what to say when I’m in my patient’s room, I feel as though I should try to rehearse how to introduce myself and how to explain what I’ll be doing with them for the duration of my clinical time. I also think it would be a good idea to check their chart and see why they are my unit to begin with. I believe getting background information from their chart will help me better understand who they are and why they are there, and it gives me something to talk about while I’m in the room with them.

Today, I decided to head to Easton Town Center for a little bit of people watching. To not make it obvious of what I was doing, I brought my friend with me, grabbed some food, and sat at a table in the middle of the mall. The first thing I noticed were the amount of people walking around on their cell phones. Talking on the phone, texting on the phone, and taking pictures with their phones. It’s no secret that technology has become a huge part of our culture and society as a whole. There are always jokes about how this generation is always on cell phones, and while there is some truth to it, I did notice something interesting during my people watching. I noticed a group of friends walking around the food court area. They had to of been in their early 20’s, strictly going off their looks. I continued to watch them as they grabbed food and sat at a table. They had their phones out, but they were all placed faced down on the table, and not one of them picked their phone for any reason. I noticed their body language was relaxed, and their full attention was always on the person who was speaking. No one was ever interrupted by another person or by a phone. It was definitely a rare sight to see in this day and age. Another observation I had was that I noticed there are two types of people: Those who use their hands when they talk, and those who don’t. I’m definitely one to use my hands when I talk because I like to emphasize what I’m saying, but I also don’t like keeping my hands still. Whenever I saw someone talking with their hands, their voices seemed to be louder than those who would keep their hands in their pockets or at their sides. The last thing I observed was the correlation between the tone of someone’s voice and the other person’s body language. For example, I noticed this young couple standing outside one of the clothing stores having a conversation. The guy’s tone came off to me as happy and joking, making the girl’s body language open and flirtatious. She would play with her hair, smile back, and move in closer every time he would speak. I wasn’t expecting to see so many different situations during my time people watching. It was definitely eye opening to just take a look around at what was happening around me.

Welcome to u.osu.edu. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing!

Hello, Christa! My name is Kaitlyn Hill, and I’m so excited to be taking your class this semester! I have always found psychology interesting and have often thought about being a psychiatric nurse. My main area of interest, however, is pediatrics. I’ve always loved working/interacting with kids. Growing up, I never thought I would get into the medical field because of my traumatic experiences as a kid in hospitals. Up until my Junior year of high school, I wanted to be a horse trainer. However, I realized that being a successful horse trainer wasn’t as easy as it looked, and I decided that my interest in horses would be more of a hobby than a career choice. I then started to consider my other interests. I’ve always loved science and learning about the human body. I also find myself to be a very compassionate and empathetic person. It only made sense from there that nursing was going to be my calling. I started out at The Ohio State University Newark branch campus. I finished all of my GECs and prerequisites, and all I have left are my nursing classes. Never before have I ever been so excited to be in school, and my first semester in the nursing program only reaffirmed my passion for this profession. As I head into this second semester in the program, I am eager, but I am also very nervous for what’s to come in my clinical. I can only hope to gain more confidence in myself and in my role as a student nurse by the end of this semester.

As far as my personal life goes, I come from a very big family. I have five younger siblings, and yes, I’m the oldest. I have three sisters who are sixteen, twelve, and eight, and I have identical twin brothers who are eleven. I’m also the first in my family to go to college. There’s definitely a lot of pressure and lot of responsibility being the oldest. However, there’s never a dull moment in my house! If there are two things everyone knows about me is that I love horses and Disney! I actually use to own a horse of my own for five years, but he sadly passed away almost a year ago. This year, I’m finally starting to get back into riding at my aunt’s house. Just being around horses has always been my therapy. My other escape from reality is Disney. I spent six and a half years of my life growing up in Florida, and when I lived there, I would go to Disney a lot with my family. After I finish school, my plan is to move back to Florida. I also want to travel as much as I can before starting any kind of family. I love to travel to anywhere that has a beach! I’d also like to tour Europe at some point.