Day five was a day that I had been looking forward to all week because of the skills lab we were able to participate in today! To begin, we woke up around 7:30 for an early meet up time of 8:30 AM. I was able to eat a filling breakfast of cereal and eggs, and I also packed a waffle and banana for later in the day. Thankfully, we had nice weather so the walk to Birmingham City College was not bad at all, and it was a nice leisurely walk. Once we got to the college, I of course had to buy a cup of coffee before continuing with the morning.
To start off, we were able to go to an ambulance simulation room which was so amazing to experience. We were able to feel how heavy the backpack was that paramedics bring with them to the many different situations that they are exposed to, and were able to walk through a fake ambulance that had the same dimensions as a real one. What I found especially interesting about the ambulances in the UK is that they continuously record what is occurring within the vehicle; however, they have special buttons on the roof of the ambulance that, once pressed, time stamp and back up the last five minutes and onward. This ensures that the paramedics are protected if anything is to occur within the ambulance, such as a patient accusing the paramedic of malpractice.
After we viewed the ambulance simulation room, we transitioned into the skills lab portion of the day. We split into two groups, and my group was able to learn about wound/burn care first. We donned our personal protective equipment (gloves and an apron) before beginning to learn the different procedures. To begin, Chinenye explained how maggot therapy is used to clean the wounds of many patients in the hospital. The maggots are stored in a sterile, silk bag that is put in the wound along with the maggot eggs. As the maggots mature, they secrete enzymes that eat away the dead tissue within the wounds, rather than the maggots themselves eating the tissue. The maggots remain in the bag the whole time so that when it is time to remove it, it is a very simple process and does not require the removal of each, singular maggot which could take hours. After we learned about maggot therapy, we learned about cleaning and packing the wounds. We had to maintain sterility the entire time which turned out to require more awareness than I thought. It is very hard to maintain sterility for the whole procedure, especially when you feel like you have to move quickly or have other important things to worry about. Finally, we were able to go through the process of bandaging a patient with wounds/burns. We learned that full arm and leg bandages are most common for burns, and that while bandaging, you should ensure that the fingers and toes of your patient are exposed in order to check their limbs for circulation. While I have never considered going into the field of wound or burn care, I thought that the lab was very interesting and it could apply to many different nursing scenarios in the real world.
After our lab with Chinenye, we had a quick break for lunch before transitioning to catheter care with our instructor Blessing. We were able to watch two videos on male and female catheterization before being given the opportunity to practice ourselves. It felt like a very complicated procedure and there were so many specific steps that had to be done in a certain order. While it made me feel overwhelmed, it also reminded me to give myself grace because this was my first time being exposed to catheterization.
While the practical steps were useful, the most important message I got from Blessing’s lab was to be kind to all patients. She told us a story about how she messed up a patient’s medicine times, and if she had not been kind to her patient, she could have been sued and fired. Due to her kindness, her patient and manager stuck up for her in court, highlighting the importance of being a caring individual to all no matter what. That is such an important message because everyone has bad days, including nurses, and yet, we still need to remember to treat our patients with respect and compassion.
To end the day we went on a ghost tour of Birmingham! We were able to pair the history of Birmingham with its many ghost stories, and even learned that less than ten percent of the Peaky Blinders tv show and movie is true. Overall, it was a great day, and I am very excited to see what tomorrow has in store!