I wish I could title this entry “last orientation of nursing school” but I can’t, because this isn’t the last one. I still have one more for Practicum.

Orientation was the same as it always, kind of boring. I arrived just as the sun was rising in the sky over the science
Center. I snapped a picture with my phone. It was really lovely.

The morning was 12 of us plus the teacher in a tiny room in the old portion of the hospital learning all about her expectations of us which were basically the same as last term (I have the same instructor) except this term no written care plans. Yahoo!

We took a breakfast break at 0830. Then went back to that tiny room
For a while until we went up to what will be our floors for this clinical. 7G and 8G. These floors are in the new tower in the Cardiovascular Institute. This hospital is in one of my favorite parts of town and I wish I still lived there. this was actually my first time in that tower as it was not there when I was in RT school 12 years ago and was doing my third clinical in their ICU’s.

While we were on the floors we did a scavenger hunt for a half hour and then we went to lunch. I was assigned to the CHF/ pulmonary edema floor, instead of the post op CABG floor. I guess that’s okay. I will just do more hanging out In the CVICU to get the low down about the nurses role in the post op patients. The instructor did it because the other group didn’t get to see a lot of post surgical patients last term. It’s all good.

The rooms on this floor are lux. We are talking wood, nice bathrooms, large flat screen TV’s that double as computers with Internet access for the patients. And GORGEOUS views of the lake in the east facing rooms. West facing rooms, a view of the parking garages. There are no techs on this floor but the ratio is only 1:3. We will start with one and move up from there.

After lunch, we logged onto the charting system to play and learn since I did my orientation to this computer charting system about 4 months ago. seems pretty straight forward. I don’t think I’ll have many problems navigating it.

The pump demo was just to familiarize us with the pumps this place uses and a refresher on how to hang a primary amd a piggy back. My attention was lost around 4 pm.

Wrap up was in a conference room where more expectations were
Laid in us and we took some group
Photos. Our day ended at 1800 and we all made our way to the parking garage to get in our cars and make the journey home. As I left, I looked at the view over the lake at the area I used to call home and wished I lives there again.

So this semester or rather this class with its clinicals should be okay. It’s good to learn in a well equipped hospital. We only have 4 patient care days for this clinical.