Pressure a Junior Nurse? How Respond Time?

¶ … pressure a junior nurse? How respond time? What examples stressors experienced Intensive Care Nursing (: patient emergency situation, increased heart rate, shock? Q2: What qualities bring Intensive Care environment? For: good time management skill, 8 weeks placement ICU nursing student.

Give an example of a time when you were under pressure as a junior nurse? How did you respond at the time and afterwards? What may be examples of stressors experienced in Intensive Care Nursing (for example: patient in emergency situation, increased heart rate, shock and so on)?

As a junior nurse, simply adjusting to the experience of being a professional caregiver was stressful. I felt very acutely the reality that other people's lives depended upon me. When there were other nurses on staff who were ready to provide assistance if I required guidance, I felt less nervous. Still, it was occasionally awkward to interrupt other nurses with what I feared would seem like 'silly questions.' I have often heard the phrase that nurses 'eat their young' or can haze or act abrasively towards junior staff members. I did not feel that this was the case on my ward, but I did notice that the chronic understaffing took an emotional toll on my colleagues and I had to strive not to add to it by being able to think on my feet and learn through observation as much as possible.

The need to act proactively will serve me well in ICU nursing, given that nurses often have little time contemplate how best to treat their patients in emergency situations. Patients may be unconscious and unable to communicate with the nurse. Careful attention to the patient's vital signs and what the immediate physical state of the patient reveals is demanded to ensure that the highest quality care possible is disseminated, even in the most trying of circumstances.

Q2: What qualities will you bring to the Intensive Care environment? For example: good time management skill, 8 weeks placement in ICU as nursing student.

I think that the strongest unique quality I bring to an ICU is that of my ability to think quickly and work well under pressure. A very wide variety of patients with different types of complaints are present on the floor of a typical ICU on every given day, and a nurse must be able to be equally responsive to all of their needs. A nurse in such an environment must constantly multitask and understand how to prioritize different needs to ensure that each patient receives the same level of care. I am careful not to get distraught merely because a patient is agitated: I always remain calm and focused, and I feel that this demeanor has a steadying effect upon the patient. A good ICU nurse is proactive, not reactive and knows how to prevent problems before they occur through constant monitoring, adherence to evidence-based practice, and efficiency. All of this requires organizational skills and the ability to do what is needed without becoming overwhelmed with fear and anxiety.

Q3: Can you think of a time you have made an error and received constructive feedback as a nurse? What did you do with that information and why was it important to your practice?