Cardia Pre-Op Clinic Reflection

This week in the cardia pre-op clinic, a Nurse Practitioner (NP) named Dot told me about her patient needed child life and that she was not prepared for her surgery. The patient was an 8-year-old girl from Puerto Rico who spoke Spanish and some English. I met D.F. and her mother in the waiting area of the pre-op clinic. I accompanied D.F and her mother to the lab and assessed D.F.’s understanding of why she was coming to the hospital. D.F. told me that she had a murmur and when I said, “oh, a murmur in your heart,” she told me, “no, a murmur in my chest.” Then I went back up to the pre-op clinic and spoke to Dot, asking her if the other had shared her understanding of the surgery and if there was any reason why she was not prepared for her surgery. Dot shared that the surgery had been moved up one week, and when she asked the mother that morning if D.F. had been prepared she did not realize the importance of preparing her child. I decided it would be best to talk with the mother first about preparing D.F. and giving her the option of preparing D.F. herself.
As a result of her cognitive development, I suggested to D.F.’s mother that we could provide her with a tour of the inpatient unit to provide her with a concrete experience and allow her to ask questions throughout the
On Thursday I had the opportunity to provide child life independently in the the cath lab, cardiac pre-op clinic, and the cardiology clinic. I carried and answered Maureen’s phone throughout the day. I checked in with the nurse practitioners and patients to determine if there were any child life needs. I followed up with a family to provide them a tour of the cardiac ICU and inpatient unit. I took on many of the responsibilities that Maureen has on a daily basis. I was excited to be provided this opportunity to experience to many aspects of being a child life