At my university, we take subjects in 6 week terms, where 2 subjects per term is considered full time. I am studying my Bachelor of Nursing, to become a Registered Nurse. The subject in question is taken at the end of the first year of a 3 year degree, and is the first subject where students go on “work placement” – on-the-job learning where we can practice our skills under the supervision of an RN, and gain practical understanding of our material in a hospital setting.
It is currently week 4 of the term. Meaning, we have had 4 weeks of online content and 3 weeks of in-person classes, with this being the 4th class. Our classes are extremely important as they give us the opportunity to apply our theoretical knowledge from the online content, on specially designed simulation mannequins, ourselves, and each other. This class, we are practising subcutaneous injections (under the skin, the most common medication being insulin for diabetic patients), blood glucose monitoring (using a finger stick), and cognitive assessments (assessing a patient for confusion, falls risk, cognitive decline such as a dementia, etc.). In previous classes for this subject, we have learned to assess a patient’s breathing, heart function, and digestive function, using a range of skills.
One person, we’ll call him John, has turned up for this class, in the 4th week, having not attended any previous classes for this subject. He turns up 45 minutes late, and should theoretically have been denied access due to this. This means that while he has done the theory component, he has not done any of the practical skills application so far. Our placement is a mere 3 weeks away.
I am somewhat of a “teachers pet”. I care about learning the content, not just to pass, but to ensure I am the best nurse I can be. I love getting hands-on and applying the theoretical knowledge and turning it into clinical skills. I often go above and beyond the content, researching anything I don’t quite understand or want to learn more about on my own. I have been told on more than one occasion not to answer questions in class, to allow other students the opportunity. In short, most people in my class turn to me if they need help or clarification, and the teachers know this.
In the class, it quickly becomes apparent that John is working at below the level of knowledge he should have. As such, the teacher assigns him to work with me, so I can do their job for them.
Some notable errors this guy made:
1. When asked to take the patient’s pulse, he placed his thumb on the patient’s wrist (you NEVER use your thumb to take a pulse, as your thumb has its own pulse).
2. He failed to clean his finger before taking his blood glucose, and had recently eaten an orange (leading to a blood glucose reading far higher than normal, because of contamination with highly sugary orange juice).
3. Worst of all – after administering a subcutaneous insulin injection, he took the tray over to the sharps disposal, picked up the syringe, and pushed it into the bin. (You should never pick up a used needle, instead tipping the tray into the disposal unit, which automatically activates a flap, moving the used needle into the container without the need to touch it).
After the last incident, he saw the horror on my face and asked what was wrong. I could only respond “that’s how you get HIV” and walked away.
It scares me that he could be a practising registered nurse in just 2 short years.
