Acute Care Reflection

This whole clinical experience has given me great insight into child health and the variety of nursing roles that exist in both acute care and community. At the beginning of the semester, our lecture focused strongly on growth and development, specifically the milestones at each stage of life (infants, toddlers, preschoolers etc.). This was very helpful when it came to working with the children at Piitoayis Family School, as there was great diversity in growth and development amongst all these children. Some of them were not reading at grade level or behaving in ways that would be appropriate for their age, whereas others were right on track. I believe by learning the “norms” for growth and development, it made it easier for us to recognize …show more content…
The children at Piitoayis seemed more accepting and open to building a relationship right off the bat, where I noticed the children were more cautious in the acute setting. I believe this stems from vulnerability, as they are sick and not somewhere where they may not necessarily feel comfortable (like being at home or being around their friends). Safety was another topic that was emphasized in our lecture. For community, we spoke in regards to school safety (by having a locked school, checking in & out at office and before getting on the school bus, and daily routine) and for acute, we focused on physical/health safety (constant supervision, emergency supply checks, IV checks every hour, vital signs every 4 hours, triple checks for dosage calculations). All of these are so important and must be held at a very high standard in all settings. I found the experience at Piitoayis very insightful, as many of these children come from marginalized families with very different background