I gained a lot of learning experiences from handling 6-10 patients every day. I’ve handled a variety of patients. Some of them were Level I, II, and III. Most of them were trauma patients. However, I was also given the chance to handle patients under other services: General Surgery, Plastic Surgery, Pediatric, Oncology, Renal, among others. I never thought I will be able to handle this wide range of patients because I was assigned in Trauma Ward were most patients, obviously, have problems related to traumatic injuries.

One key learning in this experience is time management. Staff nursing allowed me to improve my time management skills. It is in staff nursing that one should be able to utilize the nursing process in a quick manner. During our morning rounds, I always identify the priority nursing problems for each patient even though there was still no patient assignment. I made sure that I can easily anticipate the needs of the patients even without knowing their disease condition prior handling them.

Moreover, it was a great opportunity to explore other opportunities and learn new things. I am happy that the staff nurses (as well as APCN nurses) were kind enough to help me or teach me nursing skills I’ve not mastered yet. I have also experienced collaborating with other members of the health care team. I felt like an advocate for my patients. I also enjoyed talking to the patients (including those I did not handle). They do not find it hard to share their sentiments and joys whenever they knew they were about to be discharged.

I almost gave up in the middle of this semester. I felt like I’ve been doing more than what my body is capable of. It is draining; emotionally and physically. What drives me to keep on keeping on? It’s the smile and “thank you” that the patients give me whenever I say goodbye to them at the end of my shift. I know that no matter how simple my interventions were, I made an impact to the patients I handled, I cared for.

Thank you UPCN for this learning experience. Looking forward to the day our batch takes the lead in the nursing profession.