Mac Lesnick - 1

Time to Get Started

     Most people think a hospital is a place to steer clear of, but I can't keep myself from returning. However, not because I am sick or injured, but because I chose as my Hawken project to shadow nurses in various departments at University Hospitals. I will have the opportunity to experience nursing specialty such as: neonatal, general pediatrics, labor and delivery, adult surgical units, OR and hopefully the ED. By observing registered nurses (RN) and nurse practitioner (NP), I hope to gain an understanding of what qualities are needed for each specialty. Thereby answering my own personal question: which specialty suites me?
     Over the past three days, I have already shadowed in the adult ICU and two pediatric units (general medicine and surgical). All three of these units are actually very similar. The ICU was full of very sick adults, who didn't seem like adults at all. Although they appeared to be on the outside, the nurse I was following put it best, "it is like caring for very large babies." Most require the same attention as newborns or small children since they are unable to function on their own. They must be fed, bathed, and watched constantly. The atmosphere in the ICU was much different than that of pediatrics. There were no giant rainbows on the walls or nurses in fun-colored scrubs. The adults weren't laying in their beds with big smiles on their faces like children who don't know what's going on.  The adults know they are sick and it shows in their face.
     For the next two days, I was in Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital. The units were pre/post-surgical departments. There are exciting parts of these jobs, and some not so exciting but yet very important. While my nurse and I were administering the patients' morning medications, she gave me a run-down of each of her patients and why they were in the hospital. Hearing the stories of some of the kids would probably turn most people away from working in these units, but they make me want to help these kids even more. A handful of the patients had been abused and beaten by their parent(s), and another group of them have been suffering from their illnesses since birth. However, working and helping these children is the best thing anyone could do for them which is why I am drawn to Pediatrics. When it was time for one of the babies' feedings, neither of the parents were there, so it then became the nurse's job to take care of the child. Since my nurse was having a very busy morning, I volunteered to feed the baby so she could finish her morning rounds. So for about a half hour, I got to sit with the child, feed him, burp him, and then rock him to sleep until my nurse returned. This was easily the most rewarding and special part of my day, being there to help a small child when no one else is available. So like I said, there are very sad moments that come with being a nurse, but being the one able to provide the needed care and cause a child to smile makes it easy to get through the day.