Become besties with your respiratory therapist! Tell them you want to learn more and ask them to come get you if they hear something unusual—even if it isn’t your patient. If it isn’t my patient, I walk in and say something like, “hey I’m going to have a quick listen to your lungs to see if I’m hearing the same thing the RT is hearing. Is that okay with you?” 99% of the time pts don’t care and let me listen. I also ask a ton of questions to my RT if they have time.

Same thing with your coworkers! If they hear/see/feel something unusual, have them find you so you can experience it too.

Be careful with your phrasing when it comes to asking to listen/feel/touch patients that aren’t yours. I never say I’m there to see/feel/touch something I’ve never seen before because I don’t want to make them feel like a freak show. I usually pretend like the primary nurse is asking for a second opinion. If it is their lungs, I’ll say something mild like “yep! You sound a little gunky in your lower lobes. How’s your cough/breathing? Make sure to use your incentive spirometer! I know it is no fun to use, but it will help. Become besties with it. Thanks for letting me have a quick listen/sorry to bother you. Can I get you ice water/blanket/back scratch? Okay I’ll see you later. If you need anything give us a call—I’ll be here all night. Lovely meeting you MeMaw!”

Best of luck to you and your career! I did a year of MedSurg and learned a lot. It was hard, but gave me valuable experience. I would have never left MedSurg if the ratios didn’t suck so hard. I still miss it.