warpednormal's Diaryland Diary

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shadowed a psych student nurse today. it was quite interesting because she barely spoke to her patients, nor did she complete any type of mental status exam, which we've been taught a great deal about last week. hm.

she said one patient was very isolative and rarely spoke, but i went up to him anyway and i was able to gather that he actually had some insight into his illness. interesting.

tomorrow, i have my own patient. i chose one with major depressive disorder. i observed her across the ward, she barely shows any emotion, she barely talks...apparently, she's never even left her room until today.
i'm nervous, excited, everything. i'm supposed to assess whether or not she has suicidal ideation (meaning, does she have any thoughts of suicide).

this scares me to no end.
somehow, i feel like all the reading i do tonight is just not going to prepare me for the kinds of things i'm going to be experiencing tomorrow...

i just have to keep reminding myself that this isn't really about me.

the best i can do is be with her ..not just physically, but emotionally..as much..as best as i can.

7:12 p.m. - 2010-06-14

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