Katie Kemp Reflects on ICU Summer Internship

Here is my summary about my summer internship:

This summer I interned at St. Cloud Hospital in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). As a paid intern, I worked 12-hour shifts, switching between day shift and overnights, and averaged 72-hours a pay period. My internship experience in the ICU offered countless challenging learning opportunities and made me feel comfortably prepared for my senior year of nursing school. Throughout the internship I reflected on my growth of clinical skills, nursing knowledge, and confidence in the patient care setting. This reflection allowed me to recognize my strengths and weakness which gave me direction on where my goals are for this coming year. I remember my first day on the unit walking into my patient’s room and feeling instantly overwhelmed when I saw my patient with two IV poles with five pumps on each, a mechanical ventilator, and the Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy (CRRT) machine; I thought I was in over my head. At the end of the 10-week internship I felt comfortable walking into a patient’s room with all of these complicated machines. I was able to manage my time efficiently and knew what my priorities where for my initial patient contact. Looking back to my first day on the unit, I never would have thought that I would grow to be comfortable in the chaos of the ICU. My internship experience at St. Cloud Hospital was challenging but offered an encouraging learning environment that furthered my passion for nursing. The biggest take away I had from this internship is the human body is complicated and resilient, and nurses are some of the most passionate, confident, and empathetic individuals.        Katie Kemp