This week has been slightly hectic with all the things first semester nursing students have to prepare for. We have the opportunity to participate in blood pressure clinics around the greater Portland area today and Thursday, depending on what day we chose. Then we had to schedule a high fidelity simulation vital sign assessment for the day we did not chose. On top of that, we have our first exam (in NCLEX style, of course) on Friday. We also have an assessment next week in IEL. It does not seem like much, but it is.
The blood pressure clinic today went surprisingly well. I say that because I was nervous to be "practicing" reading blood pressure on "real" people. It was not as if I could necessarily retake someone's blood pressure because I did not hear it correctly and I may not have read it correctly the first time. Not to mention, the chit-chat. How much were we expected to talk to our client? If it's a blood pressure clinic, one would assume the clients would be less likely to converse. Not so!
I was fortunate enough to have a fellow nursing student swing by to be my first client. She advised me to not worry about gentility in putting the cuff on - the client would let me know if I hurt them. I never counted how many people whose blood pressure I took, but by the end of it I felt quite confident in my abilities as a nurse. I was able to correctly read blood pressures AND chit-chat throughout the process.
I had told my roommate before her vital sign assessment earlier, "Remember, it's just a person." After the blood pressure clinic, I thought about what I had said and realized I should have taken my own advice. Patients can be incredibly intimidating, but they are just people.
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