Shadowing Nurses at St. George's Hospital
This experience is easily one of the most significant memories I have from this trip. Driving up to the hospital I remember preparing myself as if I was preparing to go to clinical in the U.S., ready to expect the unexpected. I was assigned to the male medical ward, something I noticed right away---the hospital was divided into wards by gender and principle diagnosis. When the day started we were oriented to the floor, and that was the first aspect of this experience where I found myself astonished. Essentially, the ward was one giant room divided into three sections by walls but there were no doors. Each patient bed was separated by curtains, and there was only one isolation room. All the windows were always open, and the nurse's station was just a desk with one computer. The medication holding was a small room; there was no Omincell present. Virtual charting on EPIC also did not exist, as all the charting was done by hand in binders. Patient identification bands were not present on patients, and the nurse to patient ratio averaged 1-2 nurses per 20-30 patients!
The photo above was taken during our breakfast break. We were outside enjoying the beautiful views the island had to offer, and being amazed at the oceanside location. Back to work we went after that!
To the left is a group photo taken after our shadowing experience and post clinical/debriefing. We all had seen so much throughout the whole day as we were all on separate wards with one partner.
Even to this day, I tell my clinical group my experiences from this day as well as reference specific instances to put them into perspective of how it is in a third-world developing to second-world country. The nurses I shadowed on my unit used gloves when necessary, but not for every patient interaction. The role of nurse I observed was slightly different there as well; the doctors did any IVs/blood draws. I also noticed that the nurses knew each patient very well even without ID bands. I could ask my nurse about bed 14 4 for instance, and she knew his name, primary diagnosis, and current state. It is something I hope to take back with me after this shadowing experience; to get to know my patients more, and even those that aren't assigned to me! I think this will help them become more trusting and feel that they are in good care.