Lisa has high expectations, but I am so grateful that I had her as an instructor. SBAR, lab values and their significance, making clinical connections, identifying appropriate interventions, and organization are just a few areas where Lisa helped me improve. One thing that really helped me was how Lisa requires interventions that will be completed during your clinical time rather than generalized interventions. Many interventions are appropriate for a patient, and Lisa encourages you to speak to them, but requiring interventions that will strictly be completed during your clinical time encouraged me to do more research, and ultimately helped me identify the nursing care I would be providing during my shift. It does no good if the interventions you listed on paperwork have already been completed and are not applicable during your shift.
Lisa would also quiz me on what I would do if the patient were to decline in condition suddenly and severely (for example, stop breathing). This had been one of my biggest fears in a clinical setting. However, after reviewing the information several times with my instructor, my anxiety related to this situation was greatly diminished. I actually provided compressions during a code blue at the hospital a few weeks ago, and we successfully resuscitated the patient. I felt prepared and was happy with how I handled the situation. I feel that going over similar situations with Lisa absolutely aided me during that experience.
Lisa is an instructor that is going to test your ability and you will quickly identify areas where you have knowledge deficits. However, this is what facilitated learning and helped me improve. I still have much to learn, but I feel prepared to move into my senior year. You can tell that she genuinely cares about making her students the best nurses they can possibly be. I wish that I had been able to complete an entire semester in the clinical setting with her. Lisa is a great instructor and I am extremely grateful I had the opportunity to learn from her.