My first infant patient was a 5 month old foster infant being treated status epilepticus. My patient is in the infancy stage of development of trust vs mistrust. During this stage, infants are learning to trust the world which is fostered through consistency of care by parents and making sure the infant's needs are met without frustration which leads to mistrust. The infant did cry a bit due to the environment and loved to be held and rocked constantly to soothe him.
I was fortunate to have the infant all to myself without any parents which was interesting with soothing him but also helped me build that confidence of being alone with a patient and using clinical judgment. For example, while soothing the infant with rocking and talking to him, I noticed he had his hand in his mouth a lot signaling teething so i talked to the nurse about prescribing medication to alleviate the soreness. Also, the patient was receiving medications through IV which was pretty cool watching the nurse set up the drip, flushing and replacing the tube. I was a bit nervous of taking care of an infant alone but it wasn't bad and i had the fun opportunity to change diapers and walk him down the hall. I was a bit worn out after the first two hours with steady rocking and transitioning from standing to sitting but I wouldn't trade that experience the infant provided and I was sad to leave him at the end of the shift.
Awww Shakita this sounds like a sweet yet loving situation. I had a similar situation but the baby I cared for had different diagnosis. The parents weren't there until the end of my clinical shift, which changed the scenario a bit. But I was very glad to have been able to care for him by myself even without my nurse micromanaging for the hours I had. She trusted me and I used the tools I was taught to feed, sooth, and cater to his needs. He wouldn't eat but he would cry. So I used a trick to get him to eat and stop crying (the stroller). LOL When the parents come into play, sometimes they can make things difficult depending on the situation. It's definitely sad to leave the patients after forming bonds.
ReplyDeleteThe pediatric clinical rotation at CHOP was amazing! I really enjoyed all the patients we all got to see and help!
ReplyDeleteawe this was really touching to read. i know we learn alot in peds that we dob't think we can apply but in peds clinical alone i was able to apply so much of the developmental stages to my patients. great job on seeing that he could possibly be teething which could help the fussiness he may have had.
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