Music Heals the Soul

Saturday, June 17, 2006

.: ~2nd visit to assisi~ :.

~dragged myself out of bed at 5+ this morning for my second visit to assisi. today's nurses were much nicer than those i met last week. today there were only 2 of us, me and carolyn (ny - rjc). each of us tagged along with one nurse. the nurse i was attached to was great! she is indian. i dun noe how to spell her name, but she told me it's pronounced as "my - dehli (delli)". she's responsible, interactive, firm, friendly...everything a nurse should be. learnt a lot from her today. assisted her in cleaning patients, clearing up faeces, changing the patients. when u first start working on a patient, firstly, ensure safety - side bars up, gloves worn, apron worn. secondly, ensure patient's privacy - draw curtain around the bed fully, cover patient when undressed. thirdly, carry out assessment - to assess if a patient can get off the bed and into a chair on his own, ask him to push his butt up and off the bed. oral care is important. use swaps to clean lightly. never rub, as the lips and gums can bleed very easily. skin care is important too. she recommends johnson's baby lotion over soap and water cos the oil prevents bacterial growth, and can clear off any hard-to-remove dirt easily. she gave a patient a haircut too. oh yes, always keep your nails short. my nails aren't very long, they are of a very reasonable length, and yet, just a few minutes after i wore my gloves, there were two holes -- in the glove's right third and fourth fingers. sigh, superstitions and beliefs, be it based on racial or religious grounds, really can stand in the way of medical work. a patient's condition may not allow you to do certain things, but yet you may want it to be done cos you believe it should be done. conflicts never fail to arise, do they? nurse "my-dehli" was asking if my parents were doctors too? it seems like people have the misconception that doctors were born from doctors, doctors must give birth to doctors. maybe astar scholars can carry out research to find out if there really is a gene that somehow affects what career the offspring will have a high tendency of venturing into in future. nurse "my-dehli" really is a great nurse. motivated, tactful, high spirited. glad to have been given the chance to tag along with her, assisting her in her chores.

waterbaby sighed at 11:20 PM