A Day in Cardiac Intensive Care Unit

My one-day nursing experience revolved around the cardiac ICU in the department’s pediatric section. I was able to follow an experienced nurse around as they conducted their regular duties in the department’s pediatric wing. This section was reserved for patients who already had cardiovascular problems as well as those who had undergone corrective surgical procedures. The nurse had filled me in on all the necessary details about the patient’s case beforehand, and I met the child in the ICU’s recovery section. The child in question had a ventricular septal defect (VSD) and had subsequently undergone corrective open-heart surgery. At the time, the child was under the supervision of several doctors and nursing practitioners (NPs) who were carefully monitoring the recovery process. There were other children in the cardiac ICU, and their ages ranged from 3 to 18 months old. The nurse that I was shadowing showed considerable skill by helping another nurse insert a nasogastric (NG) tube in a six-month-old child. The nurse had such practical experience in the intubation process and a willingness to teach that I got to learn the trick behind the proper insertion of an NG tube. The nurse also helped a fellow workmate to take out the central line from a 3-year-old patient. Throughout the day, I was able to check on the patient and in the process, I got to see the nurses practicing a variety of medical procedures around the cardiac ICU.

The helpful and friendly attitude of the nurse that I was shadowing was also mirrored by the other workmates, making my entire experience in the ICU feel both welcoming and educational. I was able to determine that the attitudes that people have around the workplace can affect the quality of the work that they do. I appreciated the helpful nature of the nursing staff since they did not admonish those who were less experienced in carrying out specific tasks. Instead, they focused on explaining procedures through practical examples to ensure that they shared their acquired information with their less proficient colleagues. I felt that this approach was very patient-centric since it reduced their chances of providing substandard care, and this was necessary since the nurses were dealing with children. The nurse that I was shadowing displayed proficiency in several procedures and had some unorthodox ways of performing practical procedures. That personal approach made procedures quicker and less painful for the patients, and I believe that nurses in every department should utilize such an approach.

During my visit, I noticed that the nurses in the cardiac ICU paid a lot of attention to the provision of adequate and efficient care to all their patients. As a result, my patient had a team dedicated to overseeing the post-operation recovery process. The nurses helped each other in performing complicated procedures, and I believe that they will make no mistakes during my patient’s stay in the ICU. The nursing staff’s policy of interdependence will ensure that they treat any difficulties or complications in the patient’s case quickly and efficiently. If the patient’s family visited, they would also be reassured of the standard of care that their child was receiving if they saw how the nurses treat other patients in the absence of their families. So far, the patient is receiving comprehensive care from the ICU staff, and this will continue until they are well enough to leave the department.