Sadly a patient passed away and I was able to observe the nurses prepare the patient for the mortuary.

First we did a property list for the patient. It is important to have at least two whitenesses to check, this is incase the patients family say anything is missing.

Firstly, the nurses asked permission from the deceased  patient, the nurses were speaking to the patient and told her everything that they were  doing. I understand that this is to respect and remain the patients dignity although she is not breathing.

Two identity bands were put on the patient, one on the wrist and one on the leg.

The nurses made sure the patient was clean and then proceeded to wrap the patient up in a clean sheet.

Once the patient was wrapped a sheet of details such as, birth, death and a checklist was signed and placed on her chest (on top of the sheet).

lastly we said god bless and peacefully closed the curtain. Then Porters were called to take the body to the mortuary.

I worked a half day on POA. I really enjoyed my time here I learnt how they pre assess patients before their surgery. Some patients needed a full assessment which included MRSA swabs, bloods, ECG, height and weight.

However, some patients only needed one or two of the assessments. A bag of shampoo and body wash was also given to the patient, I learnt that these were essential for patients to use 3 days before and 3 days after surgery. This is because it helps fights the bacteria on the skin to prevent infections and keep the skin clean.

I had the opportunity to listen in on a call with the Nurse and a patient. The Nurse asked for consent and made the patient aware that I was a student.

I found it interesting the questions that were being asked to the patient. The Nurse was taking notes on the patients file and the call took 1 hour because of how in depth the questions were. I realise the importance of confirming the patients medical history such as, the medication that they take and allergies before they come in for surgery.

I shadowed the physiotherapist for half a day. I gained knowledge and watched what exercises are given to patients who have had knee surgery and why they are important. I learnt why these sets of exercises are important and what muscle they are working. I understand that depending on the patient’s home environment it is important to assess how they walk up and down stairs and how they get off the bed in order to be able to discharge them from the hospital.

I also had the opportunity to go downstairs to the clinic. This is where patients who have been discharged come for follow-ups. The patient’s wound is undressed and assessed to make sure that there is no further swelling and that the wound is healing how it should. In the clinic, patients were assessed on how they are walking which determined whether they could go down to using one crutch instead of two. The physiotherapist progressed patients onto harder exercises to do at home depending on how they are getting on after the surgery.

I was also taught that it is important to measure the patient’s knee movement with a ruler on each follow-up by asking the patient to bed their leg as much as they can. This is because the physiotherapist needs to see the improvement of the knee as this will show that the patient is getting back to normal and is able to complete their everyday activities again. The knee needs to be as straight as it can and Ideally, the patient needs a 90-degree bend in the knee.

I had the opportunity to go to theatres and watch a full hip replacement. I enjoyed watching the surgery and learnt the process of anaesthetic and how they do the surgery. I watched the epidural being performed on the patient and learnt which region it goes in and what it does for example, it numbs the patient from the waist down. I understand the importance of sterilization to reduce the risk of an infection and I was lastly able to observe the technique of how to close the wound using surgical sutures.