On Tuesday I got to help a Neurosurgery ICU nurse as she cared for a man recovering from brain surgery. He was stable, but required a lot of care and constant monitoring. The most important thing I learned is that a good ICU nurse has to be very attentive and organized. The RN was frustrated at the mess and tangle that had accumulated over multiple shifts, so we spent the first hour cleaning up the room and straightening up all of the tubes and wires. It made everything we did later on a lot easier.

Wednesday my patient was very low maintenance. He had back surgery the day before, and was getting discharged in the afternoon. He was very friendly and talkative, and I got to do a fair amount of patient education. We also talked about Chicago baseball, and he acknowledged the chance that we may run into each other at a game sometime. Nice guy.