Objectives/Goals

It is so important to have good communication skills as a nurse.  I didnt realize really how many people I would have to really get to know in order to provide adequate care.  In the ER there are many different physicians and they all like things done their way so to make care smooth, you must learn each doctors preferences. Communication is also important between co-workers due to things possibly being dropped from not communicating.  It is definitely a learning process to communicate everything.  I was good at communicating with my nurse but I would sometimes forget to include others when needed.  Another important part of communication includes communication to the patient.  Frequently they get left in the dark about their care and treatment plan.  In order to provide full care to a patient it is important to communicate with them and explain every procedure, drug and other treatments. 

When it came to my goals I tried to find goals that would stretch me to a new level of nursing skills.  Though starting an IV is something that doesnt seem difficult, having little opportunities to do this skill can make it seem scary and hard.  I had so many opportunities is the clinical setting that I have a great amount of confidence with this skill, and I feel that I can assure each patient that I will be able to do this quick and as pain free as possible. I also focused on being able to provide care from start to finish from one patient.  Due to some of the patient complaints being very non-complicated, this was a goal that wasnt as hard to accomplish as I thought that it would be. I did provide total care to one or two complicated patients but I did have to ask a few questions before doing specific procedures, I feel that I was able to accomplish this goal.  One thing I didnt really get a lot of opportunities to use the pumps.  I am unfamiliar with their pumps and how to use them.  I did have a few patients that we put on a pump but do to their acuity my preceptor just set it up due to time sensitivity.  Another one of my goals was to do a catheter without assistance on a female or a child.  I actually did a female child and many women, so I was able to accomplish this goal earlier in my capstone experience, and now I dont have to fear this process.  I am to the point where I feel that the whole procedure was done sterile and quick, and comfortable as possible.

I truly enjoyed my clinical experience and was sad to be done with my hours.  I gained friends and knowledge from this experience that I will definitely care with me throughout my nursing career.  I hope that I have acquired the skills that I will need to be a good nurse as a new grad, of course I will still have questions, but I hope that I can provide the trust patients need to feel that I am providing them with the care that they need.  I am so excited to be a nurse and I can say it is for sure the career for me.  I get excited to think that very soon I will be doing something that I love.