In chapter 2, Theresa is telling her story about one of the first times she called a “code blue” situation. She explained that as a new nurse she is still trying to figure out when to call this intense code. Theresa Brown described the situation with her patient when a large amount of brown fluid “fell” out of her patient unexpectedly. She decided to call a code because this was not normal and her patient was in critical care. After calling this code, it turned out to be a fluid sac that had popped and secreted the liquid. Her over-cautious, young, nursing mind decided to call this an emergency because she had never experienced this in her career. This chapter reminded me of the course objective about demonstrating the ability to self-reflect on the intrapersonal aspects of self-care, professionalism, and accountability that are inherent in nursing. After she reflected on her experience, Theresa took accountability for this false code call and then got a better understanding of how to be better next time.
Category: NSG 103: Blog Posts
Gratitude and Self Care
Write about the importance of gratitude in a professional setting. How do think members of an interprofessional team demonstrate gratitude to one another? At times when you are feeling stressed, what is one way that you manage?
Gratitude is extremely important to have in a professional setting because results in kindness and caring for others. If you are grateful for what you have you can be a happier more caring individual to your patients. Showing gratitude to members of an interprofessional team will provide a level of professionalism as well as an appreciation for another person’s abilities.
Explain one strategy that you use to decompress. Is this a strategy that you use that might also work in a professional setting? If not, what might you do in a professional setting to practice self-care to manage your stress?
A way I decompress is by doing exercise. I like to exercise outside because it helps me clear my head and get rid of any excess energy so that I can focus on the rest of the day. This could possibly work in a professional setting if I want to walk up and down stairs or do laps around the hospital to get my heart rate up during a break. If I am unable to get my heart rate up then I might do some breathing exercises to help me focus on the task at hand.
Revisiting the Image
Write a response about another important quality or skill of a nurse that gets less attention in popular culture. Is this part of nursing usually represented in fictionalized nurses? What do you think will be challenging about the more mundane duties of nursing as compared to the idealized qualities or skills of a nurse?
A quality of a nurse that gets less attention in pop culture is how they are leaders. Many TV shows highlight the role of the doctors and dismiss the importance of the nurse. Nurses are the people that are there for the patient 24/7. They are the medical professional that communicates to the doctor about the status of the patient. They tend to lead conversations about how the patient is feeling and any concerns that the person and family have. Something that may be challenging during the more mundane duties of nursing is that it will feel like chores.
Image of Nursing
Explain why you chose that image and how this image connects to a quality that is important for a nurse. How does this quality connect to your reasons for wanting to become a nurse? Do you know a nurse, or are you drawing on experiences with nurses? Who created it? Where did you find it?
This picture spoke to me the most because of the idea of heroism. The image is mimicking the iconic Super Man logo but instead of an “S” the diamond contains words like “caring, honest, compassionate, and respectful.” The words on the inside of her scrubs are a few characteristics I’d like to think are needed when becoming a nurse. Nurses are the people you are having direct and consistent contact with when you are ill therefore I see them as the modern-day hero. I wanted to become a nurse because I want to make people feel better and happy again. The background of the image includes different symbols that represent sexuality and sexual orientation. Personally, I will always support inclusivity and equality. Nurses will face people from all different walks of life, genders, races, and sexual orientation and it should have no effect on the quality of treatment given. I do not know the nurse who created this image. I found this image on the Otterbein University Website. A student named Savannah Gammel is apart of the class of 2023 at Otterbein Universty. Gammel created this as her final project in her Fundamentals of Nursing class.
