Today was my first ever time getting actual hands-on experience in a skills lab! I’ve always read about what goes on in them in textbooks and TV shows, and now I actually get to practice some of the skills myself. It made everything feel so much more real and exciting, especially because I start clinicals next semester and these are things I will be doing!
As soon as we got to BCU, we walked into a room that had a full simulation of a real life ambulance. It looked exactly like the inside of an emergency vehicle, which was so cool to see up close. We even got to go inside and explore all the equipment EMTs and paramedics have to carry every single day. I was so shocked by how heavy the emergency bags were because it never clicked to me that they have to bring so much equipment with them to be prepared for every scenario. Seeing all of it made me a lot more appreciative of how physically and mentally demanding emergency medicine is.
After that, we went into the actual skills lab and got split off into two different groups. My group first learned about wounds, burn care, sterilization, and different ways to treat them. I learned so many things that I know I will definitely be using next semester in clinicals, so it felt really exciting to already be getting introduced to these skills now. One of the most important things they emphasized was sterilization. Even touching the smallest unsterile thing with sterile gloves can contaminate the patient. It really showed me how detailed and careful nurses have to be in hospital settings.
We also learned how to properly bandage ankles and wrists, and we actually got to practice on each other at the end which made it more fun. At the end, we even got to keep the bandages we practiced with, which I thought was very cool. One of the most interesting things I learned today was about maggot therapy in open wounds. Before today, I thought maggot therapy was just about maggots eating away dead tissue, but that’s not true. Chenenye taught us that the maggots actually produce an enzyme that breaks down the dead tissue, so it doesn’t actually eat it. We even got to see examples of how maggots grow in the gauze during treatment, which was both gross and fascinating at the same time.
Another really cool thing we learned was how to properly care for deep and open wounds. I learned that staples are only used in areas with less muscle, such as the eyelids or the head. We even got to practice on silicone wounds that looked decently realistic. It was honestly so much fun because it gave me a glimpse of what my clinicals would look like next year.
After the wounds and burn care, my group went to another skills lab station where we learned how to insert catheters in males and females. I didn’t have any idea what to do going into it so I was a bit nervous, but knowing that we were practicing on dummies made that feeling go to ease. The instructor walked us through each and every step and we even watched a video, which explained how important sterilization is in the process. We also learned how super important it is to make sure the patient is feeling comfortable since this procedure makes people withdraw. It was a bit tricky at first and I got peed on but it was so much fun and I felt like it was going to help me so much for next year. There were so many little details that I didn’t realize went into such a common medical procedure. While practicing, I accidentally got peed on by the mannequin which wasn’t the best experience.
Finally, we learned how to put in a feeding tube which is something that is very important for people who can’t physically swallow their own foods. We learned two different ways to insert the tube. One way we learned was putting a tube through the nose and the other way was inserting it near the abdomen. Although, we didn’t actually get to practice putting the tubes in, I learned a lot by just watching our instructor.
To end off our day, our group went on a ghost tour led by a super nice man who seemed really passionate about the murders and darker history of Birmingham. Although, it was freezing cold outside, the information we learned was very interesting!