Week One

First week of prac completed and so far I'm really enjoying my placement. Been given a lot of independence and learning loads about a whole variety of issues, ranging from chest management to amputee physio. The area I am in is Sub-acute med unit, so as the name suggests there is no-one who is acutely ill, which means my supervisor was confident in giving us a fair bit of independence from about the second day.

S// One of my patients was an elderly man with recent onset of SOB which after appropriate tests has been linked to pneumonia and asthma. He has a hearing impairment and speaks english as a second language,which meant my communication had to be spot on.
T// I had to go in and assess his chest and mobility to provide an update to my supervisor. I could then plan my treatment and after my supervisors approval treat him as planned.
A// I conducted an initial subjective assessment making sure to speak clearly, concisely and also loud enough so he could understand. I then assessed his cough, auscultated and watch him perform transfers and walk. My treatment consisted of ACBT (including TEE and huffs) and a walk.
R// I reassessed his cough (which was non-productive initially) and auscultation followng treatment. However, his cough remained unproductive and he continued to have an inspiratory wheeze following treatment.
E// I believe my comunication skills were very good with this man and I managed to get him motivated for treatment. Although, his markers did not change following treatment, i believe it will take more then one session for these to change.
S// I believe my auscultation skills can improve significantly especially in regards to what added noises i can hear and what pathophysiology they point too. Can definitely also improve my skills in teaching ACBT.

Initial entry

Im off to the sub-acute medical unit at SCGH. Although feeling a little nervous I am looking forward to my placement. Am happy to be going to one of the major teaching hospitals as I expect it will be a great opportunity to work with some really experienced Pt's but also with some new graduates. Also will be great to get experience in how the whole public hospital system works, as i definitely intend to spend time in the public hospital system upon graduating. Not entirely sure what the sub acute unit will have instore, apparently a fair bit of cardio and also a fair bit of gero skills. I am expecting to be given have a lot of independence from a pretty early stage, however no doubt the first few days will be getting the swing of things. As i said a bit nervous, suppose mainly because I will be in a completely new environment and also some fear of not being up to scratch with my skills. Ah well all part of the experience i suppose.
Good luck to all!!!