Nursing Care of Child-Bearing Families

1. Support family and child coping in response to psychosocial, environmental, economic, and physiologic transitions, stressors and crisis.
: I have started to work on my IHP paper, which allowed me to work towards meeting this objective. I have had three meetings with the student I selected. At each meeting, I had the opportunity to assess the child’s and family strength and weaknesses related to the new diagnosis. I asked questions and obtained additional information from the student’s parents regarding the effect of the new diagnosis in various different settings. I was able to brainstorm possible nursing interventions to establish the desired outcomes for the project. I will continue to keep working towards reaching this goal as the semester progresses and have more opportunities.
2. Communicate therapeutically with children, youth, families and professionally with colleagues in nursing and other disciplines.
Utilized electronic communication to contact my school nurse for the semester. I sent 2 emails and then obtained a response. I was very happy with the prompt responses from my school nurse, which allowed us to set up a date for my first school clinical that worked for both of us. I will continue to work towards having good communication with staff and peers throughout the semester. Also, I used therapeutic communication during the practice lab. When I practiced giving an injection to an infant, I included the mother of the infant. I verified the infant’s information and included the mother in the process by asking her to hold the infant in a way that would make the injection easier and faster. Although it was a more laid-back setting, I was able to get a feel for and practice the way I would talk to families. During this scenario, I was also able to practice writing documentation. This was helpful because I was able to refresh the correct format and keep the example I created for further reference. I like when I receive feedback/ criticism from my instructors because that ensures I don’t forget the suggestion I received. Feedback for my vaccine documentation helped improve my documenting skills and feel more prepared for clinical.
3. Synthesize strength-based developmentally and culturally appropriate nursing interventions for children and youth experiencing varying states of health.
Week 5 – After meeting with my student for the IHP project, I learned she had suffered numerous hypoglycemic episodes last week. Because the number of episodes were increasing, the student and I brainstormed ideas about potential conflicts in her life that could be influence. It is easy to communicate with my student and I am excited to do research about interventions that she has not tried yet. I introduced some goals that I had for her like reducing the number of episodes per week, which she agreed is one of her goals as well. I was able to recognize some conflicts from her daily life. From my conversation with the student, I gained some confidence because I was able to consider things from her daily life and determine how wrestling, friends, and school can be having an effect on her condition. A nurse has to take into consideration life aspects of the patient that could be having an effect, which is something I had the opportunity to practice this week. In addition, we walked through some of her relapses from the past week. She mentioned where she was, what she was doing, and who was involved. We were able to determine potential stressors that could be influencing the hypoglycemic events. I also met with my student’s mom and agreed that interactions with her boyfriend could be a cause of her episodes. Mother was going to talk to boyfriend about carrying wipes and using them before holding hands with her daughter.
4. Adapt nursing roles to promote, maintain, and restore health within the full range of child and family life contexts and transitions.
Week 4 – On my first day with my assigned school nurse, I had the opportunity to interact with high school and elementary school students in their normal school setting. I had fun talking with the elementary school students. I could tell they were not sure about me so they were a little hesitant about opening up at first, but after talking for a while they were more comfortable. I learned that a nurse role is more than just administration of medications. In other setting like a school, a nurse is a person that the students trust and use as a confident. Many of the complaints of students who go into the nurse’s office are managed by giving them attention and listening to the student. In a school setting, I noticed students want more privacy and don’t want other students to know about their problems. I learned about different policy’s in a school setting. For example, a student was sick, but did not have anybody available to take him home. The nurse advocated for the student and was able to drive the student home in a school van accompanied by the school security. The nurse notified and obtained consent from the parents about leaving the high school student at his home. By observing my school nurse, I realized there are many ways of providing patient support. I was exposed to different methods of helping like therapeutic touch, listening, and using things like ice or hot pack to make the student feel more comfortable. These are easy nursing interventions that can be applied in many settings rather than immediately seeking medications. This week I was reminded of the various nursing interventions to help patients and kept those interventions in mind throughout the week.
5. Form collaborative partnerships with children, families, and community groups to promote child health and achieve health goals. –
This week I met with the student I will be doing my IHP project on to discuss possible interventions. We talked about the amount of teacher participation in accommodations to her diagnosis. I was surprised to learn that she feels some teachers are accustomed to her hypoglycemic episodes and don’t pay much attention. An example of an easy change in her life could be introducing the idea to her significant other about carrying disinfectant hand wipes with him. This would ensure her boyfriend could wipe his hands before any contact with the student to decrease the episodes of hypoglycemia. My student was open to this idea and added her thoughts about how this could work. In addition, we talked about the areas of strength where she is not experiencing hypoglycemic episodes like her home. We talked about possible differences between her home and school that could be contributing factors.
6. Demonstrate professional behavior in all aspects of learning and clinical practice.
the first 3 weeks of clinical I had various opportunities to demonstrate professionalism. For example, at the orientation for Sunnyside Hospital, I showed up on time with WSU uniform and badge. I like that the instructors also demonstrate what they expect from us like also wearing WSU scrubs when needed. In addition, I started working on assignments over the summer so that I would be sure to have all assignments completed on the due date. I am excited to work with children this semester so I make a huge effort to start completing my assignments before the due date. By doing this, I make sure I am able to attend practice lab. Having the opportunity to practice my skills and learn from the instructors helps me be ready to attend my first clinical experience next week.