My poor brain!

Today I went to work knowing full well that i would be spending the day in a training session with a Respiratory Therapist (RT). Because I am starting a new position at work that will have me dealing with residents/patients that have traceheotomies I will need some new training for a procedures that are new to me. The physical aspect of the new procedures isn't really that hard, it is the information that you need to keep in your head at all times that is causing my brain to hurt tonight.

I was fortunate that the training session wasn't too intense. Due to scheduling issues I had a one-on-one training with the RT. Of course being the only student you get a teacher that gives you all their focus and that is sometimes unnerving in and of itself! The RT was very nice and treated me quite well. We sure covered a lot of information. My brain feels overloaded and she sent me home with a training manual and several pages worth of homework that I should be doing instead of writing this blog! (I took a couple hours break from my  studies/homework to relax and de-stress my brain.)

For those that do not know what a tracheotomy is I would suggest you look it up on Google or Wikipedia (or just click the link right here: Tracheotomy). As a LPN in my new position it will be part of my duties to attend to residents with a trach tube and provide their care. Part of the duties is to keep it clean and clear, after all that is how each person with a trach breathes!

When doing the physical aspect of care for the trachs is not that hard, it is the book learning that wears me out. I enjoy book learning but it is tiring and can be stressful. My personal anxiety issues get in the way sometimes resulting in a lack of confidence and an inability to properly focus. Today I was the only student so I was the one the instructor focused on all day and it was a bit intimidating. She did nothing wrong. It was me and my mental issues getting in the way as usual.

Doing my studies/homework was quite fascinating. I went through the questions first answering as many as I could using the information that she taught me today. I then went through the training manual to fine tune my answers and correct anything I got wrong. I did rather well. I answered most of the questions and didn't have to do too much correcting.

Below are some pictures of what a standard trach tube looks like and how some one would look when theirs is in place.

What a trach tube looks like on the outside.

The trach tube pieces

Tomorrow I will be doing some hands on training with one of the nurses to see how the morning routine goes and what I will be expected to do. After that I will be with the RT again going over things to see how I did with my morning and my homework. Will let you know how it goes.