First day in scrubs. I think I'll always look like a dork in this uniform. Hopefully I won't always feel like a dork.

We are in the hospital on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for the rest of the semester. We are working with a partner for the first couple weeks, then by ourselves with a single patient.

I will obviously not be able to take many pictures in the hospital because of patient confidentiality rights. And I'm not even sure what I can talk about in the blog. I know it's not like I'm a subcontractor for the DOD building a top secret submarine, but I'm really tentative about posting details about patients, even while maintaining their anonymity. I need to figure out what I can and cannot write, or even what I feel comfortable writing.

For today, I'm just going to list tasks that I performed:
-took vital signs
-cleaned up sputum from a trach tube
-moved patient to cardiac chair
-performed a physical assessment
-monitored patient's oxygen levels and adjusted oxygen flow
-assisted RN with urinary catheterization and urine samples

Our patient was not getting enough oxygen, and was running a fever, so some normal care responsibilities such as bathing and oral care were lower priorities.
Time flew by, and in the end, I didn't feel like I did that much, and that I was kind of useless. But I learned a ton, and now get to look forward to the less intimidating second day.