LEARNING FEEDBACK DIARY (LFD):

General Objective:

To be able to gain comprehensive knowledge of common emergency and critical case

responses.

Specific Objectives:

 To define the term "emergency,"

 To discuss common examples of emergencies
 To demonstrate understanding of how to respond to common emergencies
 To describe proper nursing management in an emergency
 To develop more skills that will be useful in emergency situations

I learned a lot in our Emergency Nursing course. This includes how to respond to common
emergency and critical cases such as shock and hemorrhage, blood transfusion, blood cross
matching, trauma, alcohol intoxication and drug abuse, heat cramps, exhaustion, and heat stroke,
hypothermia, frost bite, near drowning, poisoning, animal bites, violence and abuse, and
psychiatric emergencies.

There are many things I learned from this course, but let me start with the most basic, which
is the definition of an emergency. The term emergency is defined as “an unforeseen combination
of circumstances or the resulting state that calls for immediate action.” So, when we say
emergency, we mean a sudden and difficult or dangerous situation, such as an accident, that
requires immediate action to deal with. To put it another way, emergencies can happen anywhere
and at any time. The nature of an emergency is unpredictable, and its scope and impact can
change. It is critical to be prepared and plan ahead in order to protect lives, the environment, and
property. One of the most common emergencies is airway obstruction, which occurs when any
part of the airway becomes blocked. This is most common in children under the age of four. It
occurs when a small item becomes lodged in a child's throat or upper airway, making it difficult
for the child to breathe. Adults commonly experience airway obstruction caused by
complications from smoking. The nursing management for this is to first assess the situation and
determine what type of airway obstruction is being experienced by the victim. Is it complete or is
it incomplete? For complete airway obstruction we must follow the 5-sequence. So, after placing
the victim in supine position on flat surface, we should perform the tongue-jaw lift maneuver 
then finger-sweep  rescue breathes  heimlich’s  TJL. There are also special considerations
in responding to this emergency, such as using only one hand in performing the Heimlich
maneuver on children. We should not perform blind finger-sweep on infants; instead, we should
deliver 5 back blows followed by a chest thrust below the nipple line. For obstetric
considerations, place one hand over the middle of the sternum and perform a backward chest
thrust. If the victim is unconscious, we should place a pillow beneath the right abdomen to
displace the uterus. Another example of common emergency is shock and hemorrhage. Shock is
a life-threatening condition caused by a sudden decrease in blood flow through the body.
Trauma, heatstroke, blood loss, an allergic reaction, severe infection, poisoning, severe burns, or
other causes can all result in shock. When a person is in shock, his or her organs are deprived of
blood and oxygen. If left untreated, this can result in permanent organ damage or death.
Hemorrhage is bleeding from a damaged blood vessel. This is where blood transfusions take
place when a person has lost a lot of blood. Blood transfusion is one of the most commonly used
procedures in shock and other emergencies. The process of transferring blood products into a
person's circulation intravenously is known as blood transfusion. Prior to transfusion, blood cross
matching should be performed to determine whether the donor's blood is compatible with the
blood of the intended recipient. Trauma is a set of psychological and physiological responses to
pain, injury, serious illness, medical procedures and frightening treatment experiences. Fracture
is a condition characterized by disruption in the continuity of the bone. Drug abuse is defined as
the habitual use of addictive or illegal drugs. Alcohol intoxication is a condition caused by
consuming an excessive amount of alcohol in a short period of time. It's also known as alcohol
poisoning. And there are many other things I've learned from this class that will undoubtedly
come in handy when I encounter such emergencies in the future.

With the knowledge I've gained from taking this course, I'm looking forward to being
assigned to the emergency room during our hospital rotation. I plan to use everything I've
learned and take advantage of the opportunity to learn more about different emergency situations
in the hospital. one very special learning remains on my mind, that indeed, "It really takes a lot
of brain to be a nurse"