Going into the endocrine ward was full of much expectation and desire to learn and acquire

enough skill and knowledge about endocrinology and about the conditions that affect the
endocrine system of the patient and thereby also coming into the tangible and much needed skill
in offering and delivering care to the patients. However, I got to participate in much more than
just the conventional knowledge and skill acquisition. I was able to have atleast the first feel of
what some procedures and hospital deliberation looks like which includes:

 Patient care by the multidisciplinary team

 Decisions related to the discharge of the patient

Also I was able to learn about certain procedures and observe how they are done and also I was
privileged to shadow during the process of carrying out the procedures in delivering care to the
patients. Some of the most notable procedures I observed, learnt and shadowed for included:

 Shadowing for the drug round

 Calculating the drug dosage
 Wound management for patients with endocrine conditions
 Checking and monitoring the blood sugar level of the patients
 Assessing the NEWS score of the patients.
 The clinical application of the nursing code of conduct according to the NMC.

I had a very amazing time of learning during the placement in this area and I was able to
understand the reasons behind dome practices within the nursing profession. I got to understand
their anatomical and physiological reasons and their ethical and professional reasons as well.

Getting into the ward environment, I got to firstly notice the radiance on the faces of the patient
who however were ill, didn’t express their illness but rather express the positive energy that the
nurses and the health team were giving off. In this kind of environment, being a nurse suddenly
became more than an aspiring career but a heavenly calling. Getting into the meeting room, I
saw the level of interdisciplinary bond between the professionals within the health team and how
they professionally plan to execute the holistically planned patient care. They deliberated on
every single patient and it was a great opportunity to witness such a deliberation. The
multidisciplinary deliberation included the newly admitted patients, the inpatients current health
condition, the next stage of care and the discharging of the well fit patients and either or not the
dischargeable patients were to receive patient care packages. Within this meeting, I saw the input
of all the team members including the doctors, nurses, pharmacists, endocrinologist, the social
workers, lab technicians and other team members and the goal was to see every patient who
came into the facility sick go back to their respective homes fully cared for within the shortest
period of time.

Aside from the deliberative session of the ward time, I was able to observe and learn about
certain skills that nurses use in delivering holistic care to the patients. At the respective time for
medication, I was permitted to shadow the nurse in charge in the giving patients their respective
medications. The nurse in charge spoke to me about the rights that the nurse must put into
consideration during the drug round and the rights include; the right drug, the right patient, the
right time, the right dosage, the right route of administration. Although the rights seem new, I
will study more on it. During the round, the nurse in charge educated me briefly about the
calculation of drug dosage in respect to the weight of the patient and the type of drug and its
dispensation.

In this are also, I was exposed to the procedure of wound dressing within the endocrine ward. I
was taught the reason why certain wounds do not heal fast like other wounds in patients with
several other medical conditions. I discovered that the fluctuation with the hormones have a
resultant effect on the time it takes the wounds to heal up. And this consequentially results in the
development of new ways and strategies to care and dress the wounds of patients with endocrine
conditions. I was also able to observe the nurse in charge while carrying out a procedure to check
the glucose level in the blood of the patient. It was a random blood sugar test and the nurse
attended and cared for the patients according to the results of the test. Although I have been told
of the National Early Warning Score (NEWS), I have not seen it done until I got to the endocrine
ward and I saw and learnt of the importance and how it is measured and scored. The score is
used to measure the physiological parameters of the patient and assess any need for either further
monitoring, assessment or intensive care. I had the opportunity to try out my NEWS measuring
skills and I was corrected by the nurse in charge where necessary.

Among the many deliberations by the multidisciplinary team of health care professionals, the
discharging of patients seems more crucial and important alongside the care. The patients were
not casually discharged but are only discharged when the teams have all fully done their final
and thorough assessment and observation to determine the strength of the patient physiologically
and psychologically to handle the activities of daily living and also lead a comfortable life.
Patients who are not able to fully participate in all the activities of daily living are giving the
patient care package until they become stable enough to do so. However, certain patient relatives
tend to feel entitled to the provision of the care package even though the patient is able to
perform the basic necessary activities.

In the performance and discharging of their duties, I discovered that all the members of the
multidisciplinary team were calm and cheerful with all the patients and their relatives and the
nurses followed the NMC code of conduct like confidentiality and privacy. I was able to learn
fast through the observation and shadowing of the nurses discharging their duties to the patients.