Post by ashleaking on Dec 14, 2015 11:17:41 GMT
This year has been the most difficult but rewarding year.
The most challenging part would defiantly be the transition from a low acuity facility to a busy inpatient unit as well as the change from adult patients to adolescents. All of the challenging situations I faced allowed me to learn from what went well and what did not work so well and made be more equipped to deal with these situations going forward.
I also now recognise the importance of self care and debriefing so that you can go home without thinking about work and have time out for yourself. Support from staff differed from each facility so adapting to this was hard on the adolescent ward because we are not part of the nursing meetings and debriefing where as at the CCUs, you have the time and availability to go to all meetings, in services, debriefing etc. the daily structure at the adolescent unit was something I found very effective and enjoyed being part of the groups to see the young people outside of the ward environment.
I was also able to be part of treatment planning for both voluntary and compulsory patients, Increased my knowledge on the mental health act and paperwork as well as being part of restraint and seclusion on a number of occasions. The episodes of seclusion and or restraint were very confronting and occurred more often than I expected in there adolescent unit. Although it is still not a nice thing to be apart of, I feel I was able to support staff where needed and complete the correct paperwork.
I believe I have picked up new skills from the practices of professional nurses and taken onboard feedback from more experienced nurses to better my knowledge. I now have a good knowledge of medications, their side effects and normal dosages. I loved working as part of the multidisciplinary team in both CCUs and the inpatient setting and was able to see both longer term and short term improvement in patients as well as seeing patient becoming unwell again and getting a new course of treatment .
I first consolidated my knowledge around adult mental illness and medications while learning new skills involving case management and psychosocial rehab then learnt new information about adolescent diagnoses, family dynamics and other treatment options. The daily structure of the two/three facilities were completely different and this took some time to get use to.
The split placement at the two CCUs was also a tough experience as they both had many differences in the day to day structure and different clientele as well as different expectations. looking back on the experience, I valued all rotations in different ways and took many positive things out of each facility.
Although the graduate year is challenging and overwhelming at times, I am very grateful for the experience and feel I have become, not only a better nurse but a better person from the experience.
The most challenging part would defiantly be the transition from a low acuity facility to a busy inpatient unit as well as the change from adult patients to adolescents. All of the challenging situations I faced allowed me to learn from what went well and what did not work so well and made be more equipped to deal with these situations going forward.
I also now recognise the importance of self care and debriefing so that you can go home without thinking about work and have time out for yourself. Support from staff differed from each facility so adapting to this was hard on the adolescent ward because we are not part of the nursing meetings and debriefing where as at the CCUs, you have the time and availability to go to all meetings, in services, debriefing etc. the daily structure at the adolescent unit was something I found very effective and enjoyed being part of the groups to see the young people outside of the ward environment.
I was also able to be part of treatment planning for both voluntary and compulsory patients, Increased my knowledge on the mental health act and paperwork as well as being part of restraint and seclusion on a number of occasions. The episodes of seclusion and or restraint were very confronting and occurred more often than I expected in there adolescent unit. Although it is still not a nice thing to be apart of, I feel I was able to support staff where needed and complete the correct paperwork.
I believe I have picked up new skills from the practices of professional nurses and taken onboard feedback from more experienced nurses to better my knowledge. I now have a good knowledge of medications, their side effects and normal dosages. I loved working as part of the multidisciplinary team in both CCUs and the inpatient setting and was able to see both longer term and short term improvement in patients as well as seeing patient becoming unwell again and getting a new course of treatment .
I first consolidated my knowledge around adult mental illness and medications while learning new skills involving case management and psychosocial rehab then learnt new information about adolescent diagnoses, family dynamics and other treatment options. The daily structure of the two/three facilities were completely different and this took some time to get use to.
The split placement at the two CCUs was also a tough experience as they both had many differences in the day to day structure and different clientele as well as different expectations. looking back on the experience, I valued all rotations in different ways and took many positive things out of each facility.
Although the graduate year is challenging and overwhelming at times, I am very grateful for the experience and feel I have become, not only a better nurse but a better person from the experience.