In ICU, suctioning and manual hyperinflation is used alot by nursing staff and physiotherapists. On the second day of prac I was one of four PT students being shown the procedure for suctioning and MHI. The patient was intubated and fairly agitated and the smell bedside was putrid. The supervisor proceeded to suction the patient. The patient violently coughed and made a sickening noise.
I felt nauseous and light headed. I just stood there telling myself that I would be ok because I had never felt sick before on prac.
Following this we had the opportunity to try suctioning with the supervisors support. I didn’t put my hand up because I didn’t feel confident in my ability to suction without fainting or vomiting. Because I didn’t put my hand up I didn’t have to suction that patient. After this I spoke to the other PT students about what had happened. It was comforting to know that their experiences were similar. The reassurance gave me confidence in my own ability to suction.
This was a fairly confronting situation for a PT student new to the area. It showed me that I shouldn’t have expectations on myself that are unreasonable for a new situation. It also demonstrated the value of discussing personal experiences with fellow PT students.
The following day the supervisor asked me to suction a patient. At first I was a bit anxious, but as soon as I started to follow her instructions I was fine (there are so many things to monitor, I soon forgot about how I was feeling). From that point forward I wasn’t nauseous suctioning a patient.
I hope this reassures anyone who has been in a similar situation.
I have completed 3 pracs for Sem 1. So all my posts will be about situations from earlier this year : )
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2 comments:
luca, These patients are tough. Little trick to use a very small amount of vicks vapour rub up each nostril.
Still doesn't remove the confronting visual and auditory stimuli but i found it can help.
Also i found if you're actually treating the patient (not observing) it takes your mind off the unpleasantness of the situation.
I had a similar experience, as when I was watching someone else suction a pt the noise and the sight of the sputum made me want to vomit. However, as you said, when you do it yourself there is so much other stuff that you have to concentrate on that you forget about the sputum. Now that I know how to suction properly I try to make sure I’m not in the room when someone else is suctioning or I still feel sick.
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