First day in the Hospital...

First days are always hard... first days on a new job are exceptionally difficult. However I found that UNC School of Nursing prepared me for my experience in the Operating Room (OR). Had I been in the OR last year I would not have been as knowledgeable of the removal of 2 lumbar disk herniations. I had seen a lumbar disk removal previously when shadowing a Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA)... but this time I understood the drugs that were given and the surgery. The patients that I saw were on Fentanyl to decrease sympathetic activity and Propofol as a sedative. I also got to observe a patient being intubated and saw vocal cords! Maybe when I spend my week in the OR i'll get a chance to practice intubating. Dr. Marta the anesthesiologist that is in charge of our hospital internship also explained to me the different things she was looking for on the monitor and generally how to compensate. I remember the 1st time I shadowed a CRNA the number were completely alien to me.

Madeline - Hospital Internship