Community Health Nursing: What's so good about it??

I should have posted this topic long ago but I always forgot until it finally went out of my mind. It just came back to me when we started discussing again about Community Health Nursing in our lecture today. So, I would like to share some of my experiences on our CHN duty or Community Health Nursing and what's so good about it.

I'm used to hearing my sister say that having a duty in the hospital is better than in the community. She said that it's very tiring when in the community. But when it was my turn to have a duty in the community, I proved her WRONG!! ^^ My experience in the community was great. We had great time with my RLE group. And do you want to know what made it so great??

this!and this!

food!and more food!!

The first three photos were taken in the house of one of the families assigned to one of my classmate to conduct a study for our Family Heal Survey and Family Nursing Care Plan. His family was so nice. His family cooks food and sells it in their community, and we "the guys" were the luck ones to taste it! And I tell you, It tastes great! The food was a "tinola" or "souped-fish" It really was a great time for us! The fourth photo (I hate this photo, I'm nowhere to be found because I was the one taking the picture!!) was taken in a bakery just in front of the Barangay Health Center!

It's just not the food that makes it great. When pre-natal day comes, Dozens of mother's with their babies come and our task that time is to take their vital signs. I volunteered myself to be the one taking the mother's blood pressure and the babies temperateure rate. It was cool because there's just so many mothers and I get to practice my blood pressure taking skills, and in the shortest period of time, to cater all of the mothers. We also had our flower arrangements while in the community.

And after the fun day, we again took pictures, this time, with me, because the one taking the picture was already the Barangay Health Worker.

The Group 5 Girls

The Complete Group 5 Members

OUR VERY FIRST DAY OF EXPOSURE IN THE HOSPITAL

GUYS! I apologize for the three consecutive posts about performance checklist. Many students are just begging me to post some of my notes. And I also want this blog to be very informative and very useful to students who needs it. Please bear with the posts. ^_^ I'll make sure to post more on our experiences. ^_^

So here's the footage from our first day in the hospital. Our group was assigned on the Out Patient Department and we were very much lucky with it! The Out patient department was the least stressful from all of the wards! Unlike in other wards, we were only assigned to guide patients to their respective rooms and take their TPRBP or Temperature, Pulse rate, Respiratory rate, and blood pressure. And most importantly, we were required to do DUSTING every morning!!! GRRR! But at least our dusting skills had improve! haha! ^_^ But still, our group was the most relaxed in our section, the BAD thing is, we just can't relate to our other clssmates talking about NGT and IV insertion because theirs no such things as that on the out patient department! T_T But anyway, we'll still get to that part. ^_^ So if your assigned in the OPD for the first time, all I can say is, ENJOY and RELAX! ^_^

TEMPERATURE, PULSE RATE AND RESPIRATORY RATE: PERFORMANCE CHECK LIST

I. Definitions

1. Temperature - is the degree of heat maintained by the body as measured by a predetermined scale. It is the balance between the heat production and heat loss of the body
2. Pulse - the rhythmic expansion of an artery produced by increased volume of blood forced into by contraction of the left ventricle at each heart beat
3. Respiration - the exhange of gases between an organism and its environment

II. Preparations
A tray lining containing:

1. A wide mouth container containing cotton balls soaked on soap solution
2. A wide mouth container with plain water
3. A wide mouth container with clean oral thermometer in disinfectant solution
4. A wide mouth container with clean dry cotton balls
5. A wide mouth container for soiled cotton balls
6. A watch with swift second hand
7. Paper and pencil
8. Hand towel

III. Procedure/Check list

ORAL TEMPERATURE

1. Wash hands
2. Explain procedure to patient
3. Obtain proper thermometer
4. Wipe thermometer bulb to stem
5. Check for proper lighting
6. Shake the thermometer down to 35 degrees
7. Place the thermometer under the tongue
8. Instruct to gently close the mouth
9. Leave in place for eight minutes
10. Remove thermometer
11. Wipe thermometer from stem to bulb
12. Read thermometer at eye level
13. Place thermometer in container
14. Record finding

AXILLARY TEMPERATURE

1. Wash hands
2. Explain procedure and elicit cooperation
3. Pat the axilla dry
4. Obtain proper thermometer
5. Wipe thermometer from bulb to stem
6. Shake the thermometer down to 35 degrees
7. Place the thermometer in the axilla directed upward. Place arm across the chest
8. Leave thermometer in place for ten minutes
9. Remove and wipe the thermometer from stem to bulb
10. Read at eye level
11. Place the thermometer in the container
12. Record on a paper
13. Fix the sleeves of the client
14. Wash hands

RADIAL PULSE

1. Wear watch with swift second hand
2. Explain procedure to patient
3. Place patient's arm across the chest
4. With gentle pressure, place first three fingers against the radial artery
5. Feel for pulsation
6. Count for one full minute
7. Record on a paper

RESPIRATION

1. With fingers still in place, after taking pulse rate, note the rise and fall of the pateint's chest
2. Count for one full minute
3. Record for one full minute
4. Transfer the readings in the patient's chart