All I can say is EEEEEEKKKKK!!!!!

I am a little freaked out right now. I had my first pt ever and I am a freshman in the nursing program. We were put on telemetry and I hear that usually only sr's get telemetry. But since they are trying to keep instructors on same units everytime and my instructor got the freshmen this yr, we are on telelmtry. Others that have other instructors got easier places like rehab and such. It is really crazy. Some of my friends on other units hve a pt with only 1 problem with them and no HX of other stuff. My first pt has had heart and lung problems and on 20 meds and I have to emmorize each drug and make up drug cards for each. I am so bogged down with reading to do for lecture and sim lab that I feel like I am going to pass out from exaughstion. I am kinda glad to be doing the hard unit right off the bat as It will better prepare me but it is also not fair that we have 3 times or more the homework and stuff as other students. grrrr!

thanks for letting me vent. I needed that.
Quote from KibbsRNstudentI am a little freaked out right now. I had my first pt ever and I am a freshman in the nursing program. We were put on telemetry and I hear that usually only sr's get telemetry. But since they are trying to keep instructors on same units everytime and my instructor got the freshmen this yr, we are on telelmtry. Others that have other instructors got easier places like rehab and such. It is really crazy. Some of my friends on other units hve a pt with only 1 problem with them and no HX of other stuff. My first pt has had heart and lung problems and on 20 meds and I have to emmorize each drug and make up drug cards for each. I am so bogged down with reading to do for lecture and sim lab that I feel like I am going to pass out from exaughstion. I am kinda glad to be doing the hard unit right off the bat as It will better prepare me but it is also not fair that we have 3 times or more the homework and stuff as other students. grrrr!thanks for letting me vent. I needed that.

Thanks for sharing. Tele patients are multi-system patients, and that of course means more work for you. Ugh.

Awww.... I know it's hard, but look at the brighter side--you'll be so much better prepared than the students who had easy patients!

I know this doesn't help with the exhaustion, but previous posters are right - you'll be much better prepared, not only for class but also for life as a nurse. A lot of grads have trouble getting their heads around complex patients which, if you end up working in a an acute area, is pretty much all you'll see! Having a complex patient means that when you have classes about some of the issue he has, you have a tangible case to refer to, which will also help all the theory stick. An important part of nursing is being able to put apparently disparate things together in your head - if he's dehydrated and hypotensive, why are his legs oedematous? for example - and this is the only way to get a handle on that. It also means that treatment is more challenging - how do you rehydrate, to avoid that acute renal failure become chronic, without sending him into congestive cardiac failure - which is more interesting.Given you're a freshman, don't be too hard on yourself if you don't know everything about every aspect of this patient - that's the case in real life too! Good luck!

One of the nursing students in the student forum has drug cards premade on a yahoo website, that may help. Can you print them and use them? The site is:http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group...tudents/files/Hope that helps...a little!

Quote from KibbsRNstudentI am a little freaked out right now. I had my first pt ever and I am a freshman in the nursing program. We were put on telemetry and I hear that usually only sr's get telemetry. But since they are trying to keep instructors on same units everytime and my instructor got the freshmen this yr, we are on telelmtry. Others that have other instructors got easier places like rehab and such. It is really crazy. Some of my friends on other units hve a pt with only 1 problem with them and no HX of other stuff. My first pt has had heart and lung problems and on 20 meds and I have to emmorize each drug and make up drug cards for each. I am so bogged down with reading to do for lecture and sim lab that I feel like I am going to pass out from exaughstion. I am kinda glad to be doing the hard unit right off the bat as It will better prepare me but it is also not fair that we have 3 times or more the homework and stuff as other students. grrrr!thanks for letting me vent. I needed that.

Quote from talaxandraI know this doesn't help with the exhaustion, but previous posters are right - you'll be much better prepared, not only for class but also for life as a nurse. A lot of grads have trouble getting their heads around complex patients which, if you end up working in a an acute area, is pretty much all you'll see! Having a complex patient means that when you have classes about some of the issue he has, you have a tangible case to refer to, which will also help all the theory stick. An important part of nursing is being able to put apparently disparate things together in your head - if he's dehydrated and hypotensive, why are his legs oedematous? for example - and this is the only way to get a handle on that. It also means that treatment is more challenging - how do you rehydrate, to avoid that acute renal failure become chronic, without sending him into congestive cardiac failure - which is more interesting.Given you're a freshman, don't be too hard on yourself if you don't know everything about every aspect of this patient - that's the case in real life too! Good luck!

Quote from Maggie in NCOne of the nursing students in the student forum has drug cards premade on a yahoo website, that may help. Can you print them and use them? The site is:http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group...tudents/files/Hope that helps...a little!

Quote from AgnusWhen I was in school I deliberately sought out the more compex patient as there was much more to learn from them. It seems like a lot now but it will pay off in better critical thinking skills.

You need to get to bed so that you can think clearer than you are typing tonight, LOL!! I know you are stressed but wake up with a smile and remember that you WILL get through the day with more knowledge than you went in with. Good luck!!

I guess the grass is always greener. My first clinical rotation was an a SNF--skilled nursing, like rehab for geezers.At first, we felt like the unloved stepchild. Everybody else had something exciting--med/surg, ortho..... Before long, I came to love my assignment, as I did every assignment afterward.One thing I did notice is that at the beginning, I knew very little, so learning all those meds and lab norms seemed like a lot. But later patients had many of the same meds, and the lab norms pretty much stayed the same--so the big work was done!I suspect it may be a matter of personal attitude. If you look at something and think "ugh," you are not going to be very enthused. But if you look at a challenging patient and think, "oh, boy, today I get to do nursing," you will probably be much happier.I suspect you will also learn more and get a higher grade. You will also probably be a better nurse.Good luck! Enjoy those clinicals!

Quote from KibbsRNstudent Oh man! You nailed it on the head when it comes to me fright! All that stuff you said, I only knew what you were talking about with half of it! That is what I mean by eek! lol.