Nurses Practicum Journal entry #3 Going with the flow

August 9, 2016

Tuesday 7/26/16

Today I woke up refreshed from a good night’s sleep and excited to start my practicum at the hospital. After breakfast, Jaime told me that Sister Alvarez called and said she had some things to take care of so she would call back around 11 am to let him know what time to come. I busied myself with some studying while waiting. I was dressed and ready to go at 11 am. I waited until noon, when Jaime told me that she was very sorry, but she just didn’t have time to attend to me, and get me started today, but she would get me started tomorrow at8 am and has placed me with Nurse Madrid. I would be lying if I didn’t say that I was thoroughly disappointed. I decided to go change my clothes and take myself on a hike up to the ruins in town instead, but on the way out I ran into the medical students who invited me to go to the cacao factory with them. Company and chocolate sounded better, so I headed into town with the girls.
I must also say that Nancy has had something going on with her health. On Saturday last, she was involved in an outdoor challenge in which a Doctor removed her from participating because she was having a hard time breathing. On Sunday when I met her, she seemed a little fatigued but fine otherwise. Monday was the same. Tuesday morning she was having a hard time breathing again and said that her Doctor had done a scan on her throat and found nodules on her thyroid, but that they hadn’t done anything about it. We all convinced her to go to the Emergency Room, where the Doctor there told her that she was just having an anxiety attack and to go home and rest. Now, I have seen plenty of people having an anxiety attack and she did not fit the profile that I’ve seen. I wondered why they didn’t do blood tests at the very least. I  am sure that they don’t have the resources, but found myself feeling slightly concerned over her quick dismissal. I understand that I am not at home, and this is just a taste of the differences that I will experience.
One of the medical students told me that the ambulance driver has no paramedic skills. He simply goes to pick up the patient and drives them back. This is one of the reasons that they have only had one myocardial infarction on the books in the past year at the hospital. The patient usually dies before they get to the hospital. Oh, tomorrow should be eye opening, as well as the rest of this trip! I suppose not starting today gave me more time to adjust to some of the ways things happen here, and to not be surprised when things that I expect to happen don’t.