I want to start out by saying hello to all members. I've lurked this site off and on for awhile, and finally registered. I've been an EMT for about 7 years now, and am 1/2 way through medic school. We started clinical rotations about 3 weeks ago, and so far all is going well, except for a couple areas. IV wise, I do great in the field, but not so hot in the ER. I started to inspect the angio's, and noticed that the ones in the ER have about 3/16ths of an inch from the needle to the cath, while the ones on the ambulance have about 1/16th of an inch difference. That explained why I kept blowing veins the first few times at each location. Too much pressure on one, not enough on the other.
Yesterday I had my first OR rotation so I could get my intubations. the first one I visualized, but didnt go far enough in. When the cuff was inflated, it pushed it out of the cords. The second one I got. The last one had a short neck, and I was afraid of applying too much pressure.....and then fear set in. I realized it wasnt the classroom dummy, but a live pt. Which leads me to the reason of my registering and posting. Is it normal for a new student too put too much pressure on themselves? I'm a diehard perfectionist, and it bothers me when I don't get a procedure correct. My instructor told me that it's natural, and that it'll come with practice, but now I have this nagging fear in the back of my mind. I don't wanna puncture the throat or cause injury. Did any of you have the same problem when starting clinicals? I don't want to pull constant A's in the classroom just to find out I can't do the procedures. Any advice or critiques are welcome, and hoped for.
Yesterday I had my first OR rotation so I could get my intubations. the first one I visualized, but didnt go far enough in. When the cuff was inflated, it pushed it out of the cords. The second one I got. The last one had a short neck, and I was afraid of applying too much pressure.....and then fear set in. I realized it wasnt the classroom dummy, but a live pt. Which leads me to the reason of my registering and posting. Is it normal for a new student too put too much pressure on themselves? I'm a diehard perfectionist, and it bothers me when I don't get a procedure correct. My instructor told me that it's natural, and that it'll come with practice, but now I have this nagging fear in the back of my mind. I don't wanna puncture the throat or cause injury. Did any of you have the same problem when starting clinicals? I don't want to pull constant A's in the classroom just to find out I can't do the procedures. Any advice or critiques are welcome, and hoped for.
