Spilled milk
Last week my winning experience was with a two year old. She was very shy, and in her world, any contact with someone in a uniform had to be painful. She cried anytime you touched her.
It took quite a while to take her O2 saturation. First I showed her the red light inside the monitor, and asked if she could see the red light. Then I put the finger clip on my finger, and showed her how the little red light shone on my finger. "Can I shine the light on your finger?" I asked. She was fine as I took the reading. Of course, I let her put the clip on her mom's finger too, just to be inclusive.
Next came the stethoscope. "Can you help me out?" I asked. "Can you hold this right here for me?" I said, pointing at her chest. She willingly took the bell of the stethoscope, and held it in place. "Now can you put it there for me?" I said, and pointed to another area. Once she was in control, it was no problem at all.
That was my moment of glory. I was a real nurse, a pro!
Of course, the illusion only lasted a second. With the parents and child all watching, I casually went about my next task, hanging a new bag of IV fluid. My instructor came in to watch as well. I deftly removed the old IV bag, grabbed the new one, and spiked it with the tubing. I guess I need to work on the spiking technique, because the minute I hung it up, the spike and 500cc of normal saline came gushing out on the floor like a waterfall. I cringed, and my instructor stoically grabbed a towel. The two year old, however, was delighted. She had never realized how much fun people in uniforms could be.
It took quite a while to take her O2 saturation. First I showed her the red light inside the monitor, and asked if she could see the red light. Then I put the finger clip on my finger, and showed her how the little red light shone on my finger. "Can I shine the light on your finger?" I asked. She was fine as I took the reading. Of course, I let her put the clip on her mom's finger too, just to be inclusive.
Next came the stethoscope. "Can you help me out?" I asked. "Can you hold this right here for me?" I said, pointing at her chest. She willingly took the bell of the stethoscope, and held it in place. "Now can you put it there for me?" I said, and pointed to another area. Once she was in control, it was no problem at all.
That was my moment of glory. I was a real nurse, a pro!
Of course, the illusion only lasted a second. With the parents and child all watching, I casually went about my next task, hanging a new bag of IV fluid. My instructor came in to watch as well. I deftly removed the old IV bag, grabbed the new one, and spiked it with the tubing. I guess I need to work on the spiking technique, because the minute I hung it up, the spike and 500cc of normal saline came gushing out on the floor like a waterfall. I cringed, and my instructor stoically grabbed a towel. The two year old, however, was delighted. She had never realized how much fun people in uniforms could be.
posted by Judith @ 9:54 PM
<< Home