First week reflections...

So, I've completed my first week on placement! Admittedly, this has only been three days due to uni and training things, but I think I'm starting to find my feet.

I'm wary of posting too much detail, but a few observations:

1) I'm surprised at the lack of contact between nurses and patients. There seems to be very little; support workers sit with patients while nurses complete paperwork and make countless phone calls to other agencies locked away in the office.

2) There seems to be very little for patients to actually do. There's two televisions, a jigsaw room, a "library", and an art room, but I struggle to consider any of these things "meaningful" or "therapeutic" activities - apart from reading, which no one does. They're temporary distractions from boredom.

3) Coming from a person-centred, non-clinical perspective, I'm really, really uncomfortable with things like environment checks and how so many things are out of the reach of patients. I understand why it's necessary, but it really startled me.

4) I don't think any patients on the ward are over medicated, but the way medication is used as a first line response to behaviours upsets me. These patients have been in and out of the ward for years so they're well known to staff, and it might just be the best response, but I was horrified to see an antipsychotic administered the very instant one patient started "acting out", so to speak.

So far, the ward isn't at all what I expected, but I like it, minus the boredom and sitting around. There's only so much talking you can do to patients before you start to think you're just irritating them! I've sat in on two ward rounds which were both interesting and overwhelming, and next week I endeavour to take in my notebook and learn about all the different meds our patients are on. I'd also like to get more involved in hourly checks and the drug round, and I like he fact that I actually want to do things. I just wish there was more. Ah well, seven weeks to go...