An experience through the med-surg residency program.

Being a part of the Med-Surg Residency was a really interesting experience for me. I got to see all of the med-surg floors at Texas Health Fort Worth and as I rotated through the floors I got to bring my experiences from the previous units with me.

Through the residency program, I was exposed to a lot of different opportunities that I might not necessarily have received if I had just hired on to one specific unit. I was able to see an actual kidney transplant from before the surgery, through the surgery and even the monitoring that occurs after the surgery on the unit. I was able to take care of patients receiving chemotherapy, patients with chest tubes, ones that had recently had strokes and patients before and after all different types of surgeries.

As much as I enjoyed working in all of the different units by the end of the year of rotating I was more than ready to have a home on a specific unit. Even though there were a lot of really great units none of them really felt like home for me and I was a having a difficult time trying to decide which unit to apply for.

Palliative Care was suggested to me as a unit that I should apply for. I was skeptical at first because I wasn’t too sure what palliative care was and the 7-70 schedule was something that was completely new to me. However, I thought that it was an interesting concept and thought that I would apply for the unit. Once the unit opened I realized that I had truly found my home. I love the Palliative Care Unit and know couldn’t imagine working anywhere else. We really strive for excellent patient care and with the overlap we have more opportunities then most units to concentrate not only on our patients physical needs, but also on our patients’ and their families emotional and spiritual needs, as well.

All the staff really work together to try to give our patients the best possible experience at a really difficult time in their life. Another great bonus is the fact that we work really closely with Dr. Mathe and the Nurse Practitioners and are able to easily communicate with them when we need something.

- Ashley Hodges, RN
Palliative Care Nurse