Expectations

The book that contains the patient labels.

The majority of my hours in the Intensive Care Unit are spent labeling twenty four hour critical care patient flow sheets as well as confidential patient records and charts. Though it may just seem like busy work, it is absolutely necessary for these flow sheets and patient charts to be labeled. Labeling these documents help doctors, nurses, nursing aids, technicians and nurse secretaries differentiate the records of each of their patients. Through labeling these charts and flow sheets, I am able to gain an ample amount of knowledge regarding the conditions of the patients who surround me as I work. Labeling these charts and flow sheets also give me an idea of what I would have to look forward to upon taking up pre-med in college.

From left to right: patient label book and 24 hour critical care flow sheet.

The flow sheets are sixteen pages long. Each page requires the nurse to write in reports of the patient’s condition, EKG levels, blood pressure, IV drip, amount of medication, and much more complex requirements. I’ve always enjoyed labeling patient medical records not because I find it fun to stick stickers on paper, but because the information contained in them is mind blowing. In these records, doctors write consultations. These consultations remind me of chemistry lab reports and English research papers combined. Each consultation contains the conditions, medical history, progress, and a thoughtful biography of the patient. Through reading these consultations my medical vocabulary has expanded and I realize just how ill these patients were. It’s also through labeling these charts and records that I know what to expect when approaching to become a doctor.