When the heart beats again

How is this actually going to change after eight years of psychiatric care in a Department in which it comes to physical illness? More specifically, to the care of patients with diseases of the heart? In the five months that I had to go to my study place in vocational education for nursing and health wait, I had time to try this out.

Respect for the new task

With great respect, I looked forward to this challenge. During my training to be a nurse, we had in the house, no cardiological Station. Of course, there was also at that time, patients with heart disease. These were supplied at the time, however, to internal stations or, with appropriate Severity in intensive care units.

Intermediate Care – almost like in the ICU

In the meantime, there are since several years also in the Asklepios clinic North in a cardiologic Department with three stations. On the IMC-Station, I should find my new field of application. IMC stands for Intermediate Care: An interface station between intensive care and General care. A certain number of patients can be monitored but not as closely as in an intensive care unit.

Change of perspective

For my nursing work meant to supply a portion of the patient under continuous monitoring. The field was completely new for me. How is my expertise and how I’m going to come with the monitors?, I asked myself. On the one hand, monitors security, because of the deteriorations of the patient to trigger on acoustic signals in the duty room Alarm. On the other hand, the need to monitor monitoring means that the patients are seriously ill.

What measure the machines

Exactly how the Monitor works? In General, we can say that via various Sensors, the vital signs of a human be continuously measured and recorded. On our Station to the usual values:

Heart rate (How often your heart beats?),

Rhythm (such As un/evenly the heart is beating?),

Blood pressure (the force With which flowing vessels in the blood through the blood?) and

Oxygen saturation (How much percent of the best possible oxygen content in the blood are present?)

The special care in cardiology?

Now I’ve written a lot about the monitor monitoring. Behind the person is always. The care is always according to his needs. In cardiac care the need is diseases by the existing base and also by investigations and interventions. In addition to shortness of breath due to the blood congestion in the lungs, because the heart no longer works well, or “heart palpitations”, because the heart is beating too fast, strong, or irregular, is the fear of the patient of the distressing. After all, it is the Organ whose Function is essential for life.

What remains in your memory?

Thus, a more diverse field of activity: High-Tech medicine and of the human in contrast. The direct contact with the patients was difficult for me. Dealing with the drugs and devices all the time is a big challenge for me. Remained the admiration for a Team that is under a tremendous work load, and it still managed to give me as a beginner feel welcome. And, although I was certainly more than once a millstone.

Photo: Fotolia / sudok1