My first day of being assigned a patient: I felt anxiety about being on a med/Surg unit, having to learn the layout, keeping my mind sharp and focused on the patient, researching the MAR and learning the patient’s history. In short, it was a lot to take in and at times seemed hectic. It was exciting: being on the floor, doing vitals, communicating with the patient—it was like learning about the experience for so long and then suddenly diving right in and suddenly having a thousand sensations all at once. It was almost like the brain was in hyperactive mode just trying to process so many different new inputs all at the same time.

My patient was—in her own words—a “raging bitch” and really wanted her medication dosage. Before getting the medication from the RN, she was non-compliant, which was probably due to the pain that she was experiencing. It being my first time on the job, I was probably somewhat judgmental because I did not think that she should really be feeling that much pain based on her issues—but, looking back, everyone experiences pain differently and just the fact that she was having to be in the hospital bed, monitored, and having to cope with her illness were probably stress factors that added to her awareness or sensation of pain. At any rate, once she received her medication she immediately calmed down, relaxed, and became compliant—so that was a lesson learned: if the patient is indicating pain and wants medication and is due for it, it’s most likely warranted. At the time, I suspected she was just wanting to get high from the medication—but making that call is not up to me. All in all, it was certainly a learning moment.