It's an odd time for me to be writing, right? Well, turns out the weather decided to dump a bunch of snow, which makes the morning commute pretty crappy, so I had to get up a little earlier. But doesn't my rotation start soon? It does, but not until 9am today, because I'm going to be working at the ventilation clinic!
And no, like my dad asked, it's not the "vent clinic" for the vent system at the hospital, no heating/cooling/air-conditioning. The vent clinic is for patients who are on ventilators and have out-patient appointments. So my preceptor said it's going to be a very busy day, and to bring lots of snacks (which I never object to).
Yesterday was a fun-filled day of more calculations, but more-so to find a good bolus feeding routine for one of our patients. Right now she's receiving her feedings constantly, 24-hours a day. We're attempting (pending tolerance) to have her feedings given just 4 times a day in larger amounts. But, it's important to work around daily schedules, school, etc. Plus, there are only certain amounts that you can give someone a bolus at a certain time because of bodily rhythms and stuff like that.
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Talk about filling everyone in soon - about 9 hours later to be exact!
Vent clinic only runs from 8am-noon. Well, the last patients come in at noon, so I was actually only there until 2:30pm, seeing patients until about 2pm. It was definitely not what I expected, but, in a good way.
First, it was at an off-site clinic, so away from the hospital. Tough because I wasn't sure where I was going (and the lovely snow didn't help), but, I didn't have to park out and shuttle in, which was so nice! The team there is comprised of a social worker, a medical social worker, nurse practitioner, doctor, and the dietitian. Everyone works together for each patient, and every patient is seen by each member of the team.
It was very interesting, that while every patient was on a ventilator (or has been at one point), they all had different conditions. Muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, Tetrology of Fallot, diabetes, etc. My preceptor works part time and really enjoys her experience. Think of it...you get to know your patients really well because you follow them all the time and see them on a consistent basis, yet you get to practice the clinical science aspect of dietetics. Pretty sweet.
Getting home around 3:15pm was nice as well. I had time to make dinner and relax, but now time to start on homework for next week!
Gettin' there...167 days..
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