Wednesday I got a chance to shadow a nurse during eight hours of her work at the Emergency Department at my university's hospital clinic. It was some interesting hours where I had to sign not to do anything clinically and that I wasn't allowed to share information I got about patients. So no information about them here.
It was interesting to see similarities and differences in the system I am used to from working back home and what I saw here. Being aware that this is a university clinic with health professionals in training, I am still surprised of the number of people involved in some patients; residents, fellows, patient care technicians (sic!), respiratory therapists, pharmacists, charge nurses, nurses - and students in different forms.
When I was there, there was one patient that came in with an ambulance with a cardiac arrest, where the paramedics had started the resuscitation in the ambulance, but at the ED he had 3 MDs, 2 respiratory therapists+1 student, 2 pharmacists, 4 nurses, and some others. Far more than I am ever used to see. We'd be 2 MDs (one anesthesiologist), 2 RNs+1RNA and 1 nurses' aid.
There were also a lot of administrative staff and people walking around and involved in the patient care, and I am not sure it was for the better.
The positive things were that a nurse had four patients - max! That had been a dream to have back home... Nursing wise I felt there many similarities what I'd do and what the nurse I shadowed did. There were some technical stuff where I think that we have better (in the sense of safer) material particularly for drawing blood samples. Here it was the procedure to draw the blood to a syringe from the IV, and then insert it to the tubes. Felt one step too many for my taste. Particularly when several patients had blood-borne infections.
But the visit woke up my adrenaline-junkie... :)
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