Week 7

I worked this past Saturday, which was pretty hectic. But I got to see several patients on my own, which was great. I also got to see a bedside swallow study for the first time because when I arrived to see one of my assigned patients, the SLP was preparing to see her as well.

I got to play with one of the babies we were following in Peds yesterday, which was definitely the highlight of the day. He was born 4 months ago at 28 weeks so his adjusted age is only about one month. At 2.86 kg, however, he's still underweight. This is mostly due to his poor sucking ability. We put a paci in his mouth for awhile to help soothe him (he'd been yelling his head off for quite a while beforehand) and to let him practice sucking. He's not so good at it-- if you took your hand off the pacifier, he'd only be able to suck it a few times before it popped out. Poor thing. They may transfer him to Chapel Hill to see if he has some kind of genetic condition that's contributing to his FTT. So be on the lookout, Sarah and Diane!

I also learned that I won't be able to follow a member of the wound care team around-- apparently, no one on the team is certified to allow students to follow them around. I will just have to content myself with all the other bloody and crusty wounds I've seen and smelled. Such a pity...