Needs improvement

For the month of April, we, the trainees, are assigned in a special area for one month. As for me, I am assigned in the ICU. It's been years since I had my duty in an intensive care unit. Just so you know, it has always been my favorite area since my student nurse's days aside from the emergency room.

It's been two weeks since our first day in the ICU. I had to adjust for a bit because ICU's policy is far different from the ward. They are more strict when it comes to handling patients. I feel like a newbie despite my previous clinical experience.

This morning, my patient went almost on a hypovolemic shock. I didn't know what to do. All I did was refer, refer and refer. I felt that all the things I've learned in school were all gone. All I knew is that the patient was on a hypoxic state because her oxygen saturation reached 40%. Normally, it should be 95 percent and up. Thank God there were staff nurses to guide me.

I remember what our professor in Clinical Teaching asked us, "Are you competent enough to handle 4th year nursing students in an ICU setting?" I told our professor that I think I am competent enough to handle 4th year nursing students in the ward, but not in an ICU setting. I guess I answered it right. After my 8 hour duty today, I feel that I am still not competent to work alone as a staff nurse in the ICU, what more to handle students and to teach them what to do in a special area. I still need to learn. I still need to be trained if I want to be hired and to work in a special area like in the ICU. And yes, I am very much eager to learn new things because I admit that I am still in dire need of improvement.