Embedded Files
My Personal Connection to Where I am Employed
During the summer of my junior year in high school, I had the opportunity to become a summer student volunteer at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center (SFVAMC) located in San Francisco, California. As a volunteer in the Emergency Department, I assisted nurses with triaging patients (checking vital signs such as blood pressure, oxygen saturation, and body temperature), sending labs, transporting veterans to and from their appointments, and stocking supplies. This was a vital point in my life which confirmed my passion for caring, supporting, and uplifting others while being a part of an interprofessional healthcare team and start applying to nursing schools.
With volunteering over 200 hours in the emergency department within three months, I knew the SFVAMC held a special place in my heart. Then, during my third year of nursing school, I received a Dominican nursing-wide email regarding the opportunity to apply to become a student nurse technician. Within a heartbeat, I sent in my application and the rest is history. I am now employed as one of fourteen student nurse technicians at the SFVAMC.
As a student nurse technician in the float pool, we are assigned to a new unit throughout the hospital (acute setting) and community living center (CLC) every two months. At the SFVAMC, student nurse technicians have the role as a certified nursing assistant (CNA).
Unit #1: March 28-May 31, 2021
Community Living Center- Nursing Home
At the Community Living Center, I assisted with taking vital signs, transporting veterans to and from appointments in the hospital side (ie. eye clinic and hemodialysis unit), assisting those requiring additional support during meal times, performing active and passive range of motion exercises, providing partial or full showers to dependent and independent veterans, advocating the needs and special requests from veterans to their assigned nurse and healthcare team, setting up patient rooms for admissions and discharges, providing brief and ostomy bag changes, and charting every three hours through the Caribou system on the veterans ability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs) throughout the shift.
Unit #2: June 1- August 1, 2021
Medical-Surgical, Telemetry, Orthopedics
On the medical-surgical telemetry unit I was assigned to, I was able to receive full assignment caring for 5-8 veterans each shift, taking vital signs, preparing the patient's rooms for admissions (including a patient inventory of their belongings) and discharges, ensuring patient rooms are clutter-free and call light is within reach, providing care as a patient advocate one-on-one sitter, update whiteboards, perform bedside care and assist with activities of daily living, assist with transfer, transport, and feeding, and performing roundings at least every two hours.
Unit #3: August 2- October 2, 2021
Medical-Surgical, Telemetry, Epilepsy Center
This unit which was one of the medical-surgical floors which contained veterans needing telemetry and epilepsy related-care was where I was able to work alongside two other CNA's every shift as well as nurses who would allow me to shadow them when giving prescribed medications, IV fluids, and how the nursing team prepares a veteran for epileptic seizure monitoring and the routine protocol when a veteran experiences a seizure. Additionally, care was provided to veterans by assisting in ADLs such as brushing teeth, toileting, and feeding, transferring veterans to hospital and clinic appointments located at the SFVAMC, and providing continuous patient care.
Unit #4: October 3- December 4, 2021
Medical-Surgical, Telemetry, Orthopedics, Oncology
In this medical-surgical unit which the nursing staff also provided care to veterans requiring oncology-related care, I was able to care for 5-8 veterans per shift including transferring veterans to and from their appointment within the SFVAMC, feeding, toileting, taking vital signs, and frequent rounding. Additionally, during this rotation, I was able to float to the transitional-care unit and emergency department as a student nurse technician providing continuous patient care as a one-to-one sitter.
Unit #5: December 5- January 30, 2022
Community Living Center-Nursing Home and Hospice
On this unit which is the SFVAMC's Nursing Home and Hospice, I have the ability to care for veterans alongside CNA's, LVN's, RN's, and patient procedure transporters. With a high census of forty to forty-five veterans at a time, including hospice veterans (typically four), teamwork and collaboration, as well as time management, is crucial during every shift. Many of the veterans require extensive to total dependence care including toileting, changing colostomy bags, showers, transferring (such as using ceiling lifts), and feeding. Patient rounding is frequently performed to ensure the safety of veterans on the unit. The opportunity to care for hospice veterans has allowed me to quickly assess and understand the physiological changes included in the near-death process of humans. Additionally, this opportunity has allowed me to comfort and provide care to the veterans and even extend and connect with their families during this challenging phase.
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