Becoming A Registered Nurse: A Case Study

Today was the first day I was responsible for caring for two patients. I was a bit apprehensive about the time-management skills that are required to care for each patient appropriately, but was excited to take yet another step towards becoming a registered nurse. I was pleased with how quickly I was able to research my patients once we hit the floor, as this is only my second week using Eastern Maine Medical Center’s Cerner Millennium. While researching a patients’ orders, I found incongruent information regarding his diet. If I had not thoroughly researched my patient’s orders and questioned the night nurse about the patient’s diet status, the patient’s scheduled procedure could have easily been postponed as the oncoming nurse was unaware of his nothing by mouth dietary order (NPO). The importance of communication was yet again evident to me throughout this interaction, and I believe the
The importance of time management, as well as prioritization of care, became increasingly apparent to me. The patient, who required more of my time, had severe dementia, and was acutely agitated by her current nasogastric tube (NG-tube) as well as the hand-mitts that the nurse from the prior shift had applied. While caring for this patient I provided care that demonstrated sensitivity to a diverse set of behaviors. I believe the care I provided exemplifies the human diversity and global health care objective.
The use, and importance, of the nursing process was also increasingly evident to me throughout clinical today. Although the nursing process was implemented in the care I provided to each patient today, I felt as though each step was more apparent in the care I delivered to my patient with severe dementia. I premised the care I delivered on illness and disease management, applying the nursing process in an aim to increase health promotion, disease prevention, and restoration of