ICU Reflective Essay

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The first benefits I gained from the simulation lab is the opportunity to get familiar with the environment and equipment in the ICU so that I know what to expect in real patient situation. Second it allowed me to practice how to organize the room to make sure that no tub or lines get pulled during treatment. Third this lab was an occasion to use problem solving skills to come up with solutions when there was a change in patient status.
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I learned from this experience that it is important to read the patient chart before each treatment session, and also to be familiar with labs values when you are caring for a patient in the ICU. Knowing a patient status will help you evaluate when it acceptable or not to treat that patient. As a future
We communicated appropriately during treatment session and made sure that we were not taking at the same time. When the patient was seated on the edge of the bed, we organized the treatment so that one PTA was guarding him while the other one was instructing him on the exercises. I feel like the treatment was equally divided when it came to deciding what intervention to do and also instructing the patient on the exercise. I however feel like my partner did most of the talking, educating the patient on the importance of therapy and also answering the patient’s questions.
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If I had the opportunity to do this again, I will be more involve in providing patient education on why he should do therapy. I will also do a better job explaining the pain VRS so that the patient understands it better.
The first thing I will do differently if I was working with a real patient is to take time to figure out how the bed works so that the patient doesn’t feel like we do not know what we are doing. I will also make sure that we do not assist the patient so much and have him participate as much as he can to work on bed