I’ve officially received the date of my first practical assessment as part of the transition program within the ICU. This assessment is the culmination of the first 3 months of my graduate year. I reflect on how I feel about this, what will be involved in the assessment, and how I will start preparing for it.

It can be difficult to communicate with patients who don’t speak English; this is especially true within the ICU, when patients present from emergency surgeries or in an Altered Conscious State. In this episode I share with you a technique I have used on a number of occasions, and provide context of how it could work for you.

Im fortunate to work within a well resourced ICU; with access to highly specialised pieces of equipment. Along with this, all of the health professionals are conscious, and encouraged to think about their usage of equipment, and how to save costs where possible. I describe my experiences of this so far, and talk about an area I believe could save money in my unit. Its incredible how supportive my unit is, and how we're encouraged to bring new ideas to the table.

One of my passions as a Nurse, is the interpretation of 12 lead ECG’s. As it turns out, this came in handy last night, as I mention during this reflection. An exciting moment that I’ll remember for a very long time!

In today’s episode, I talk about some of my experiences so far of noticing, and managing some strange, and complex electrical activity for my patients. The exposure I’m getting in the ICU is unbelievable; and the funky heart rhythms I’m seeing already has been both nerve racking, and interesting. For example, watching as my patient experiences runs of VT, as he sits calmly drinking some tea! I hope you enjoy.

This may be a strange topic to talk about, but today’s episode is discussing my journey of overcoming nerves, about talking on the bedside phone. My first phone conversation as a Grad was a face palm moment for sure, but as time has gone on, I’m finding it to not be that big of a deal anymore. I hope you enjoy.

Its incredible; some patients can sit comfortably with no sedation, with a large ETT in their mouth; whilst other patients will cough and cough and hate the experience. I detail an experience of the latter, and explain why I chose to re-commence sedation in the interest of my patient.

Mechanical Ventilation is certainly a hot topic within the ICU. In today’s episode I break down my experiences of first seeing the ventilator, and learning the absolute fundamentals; compared to 9 weeks in, having a bit more exposure. I hope you enjoy.

Continuing on with introducing the various Interprofessional Team members in the ICU; today I describe the role of P&O’s, a group of health professionals that measure, and provide limb splints for our patients. I hope you enjoy.

The ICU is certainly a challenging environment to start as a New Graduate Nurse. There is constant stimulus overload from all of the ‘beeps’ and interruptions within the bedspace, and it’s a challenge to learn what everything means, and what the priorities are when first starting. In today’s episode, I describe how my thought process, and my personality has been changing since starting my grad program, and why I believe this to be helpful in my new career.