A Student Experience

“I’m writing to let you know about the very wonderful and educational experience I had at Salt Lake Regional Medical Center during my last two clinicals.  I should start by saying that the experience I had while working there for two days solidified all of my desires to become an ICU nurse.  I have had two clinical experiences, one on January 26th and the other on January 29th.  Both of the experiences were AWESOME, VERY EDUCATIONAL, and VERY REWARDING!!!  I apologize for the excessive use of capitalization, but it is the only way to get my point across about how much I enjoyed these two clinical experiences.

Let me start by saying the nurses in the ICU/Telemetry unit were so supportive.  I was assigned to a registered nurse, Mila, in the early morning hours on my first clinical at SLRMC.  My nurse had not arrived to the department yet, so another registered nurse offered to let me shadow her while I waited for Mila to arrive.  A couple of other nurses offered to let me assist/observe as they performed morning cares to patients in that critical environment.  After Mila arrived that morning, she immediately received report and started to work.  She let me perform so many of the clinical procedures/cares throughout the day, and I was surprised at how much I had learned in class, labs, SIMS, and from my instructors.  Mila tested my knowledge of medications, labs, and procedures, which was very helpful.  She gave me the opportunity to perform cares and administer medications, rather than just having me watch her all day.  It was a great first day, and I was super excited to share what I had learned during our post-conference.

The second clinical experience was just as wonderful as the first.  I was assigned to the ICU/Telemetry unit once again, but to a different nurse. Lauren arrived that morning, and immediately made me feel comfortable with her and the rest of the staff.  After her morning coffee, which I’m told is vital to working in the ICU, she received report.  We started with medications and cares, and again I was allowed to perform many of the cares and medication administrations I had learned at school.  The day went by so quickly that I lost track of time, and needed to be retrieved by my fellow students for post-conference. I can’t believe how much I have learned in the past 10 months, and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to put my newly-learned skills into practice.  Thanks again for everything you do in getting these awesome learning environments lined up for us students.”

– Seranor DeJesus