Free clinic

Okay so I am finding myself way behind and trying to catch up on blogs. So you may have to look back on a few. Anyway my first clinical was to the free clinic. These are my make up hours. So I got to take vital signs and weights. I also got to ask what their chief complaint was. Nothing I hadn’t done before. In fact I kinda of felt sorry for the LPN that worked there. She was the only one. I don’t think that I would like a job like that. She really loses her nursing skills. She does get to do EKG’s and breathing Tx’s but that's about it. The doctor was nice and did take us in with the patients that would let us in. She let us look into ears and see and infected ear. She also did alot of things that most nurses or students would think is unprofessional. She included her experiences and religion into alot of her talks. She had suffered from depression and uses her experience to get her patients to open up. Which surprisingly worked. She was able to convince them to start on depression/anxiety meds. I know that some of them are depressed but I am one of those nurses that doesn’t believe that every patient needs to be on medication. I am not knocking depression. That’s not it. I just think that some stress molds us into the people we are today. It makes us stronger and able to handle situations when they get out of control. There are some that a chemical imbalance makes it impossible to handle daily living. Then those need the meds. But don’t try digging for issues just to prescribe them 4 different drugs…here is one for sleep, one for depression, one for anxiety and and extra just in case? good grief…how about counseling? Plus I wasn’t impressed with her shoving God this and that. I love GOD and want people to love him. But there is a time and place for that. Shoving it at people that you don’t know their beliefs is a problem just waiting to happen. I do love the fact that she sits down and takes the time to talk to the patients. She doesn’t cram in appointments just to get more money. She listens to them and tries to encourage conversation. She doesn’t just assume and she actually reviews the chart before she goes in. She even asks hey how’s your arm or leg whatever they were there the last time. My doctor makes me feel like I am in a rush and never gives me time to ask questions…So that was my first clinical and I go back 2 more times next week. Then that part is done. I also go to the mental hospital next week.

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