Day 8 (late >.<)

Yes, I know, I'm late on writing the rest of Week 2, so I'm going to catch up and bring everything up to speed.

Day 8 began with Pathophysiology.  I love this class, I really do.  Except that it's difficult.  Sort of.  I think the hardest part about it is remembering that the body systems aren't isolated; if something happens in one system, it affects all the others.  I suppose this isn't a terribly difficult concept, seeing as how when you get a cold, everything seems to be involved--runny nose, runny eyes, sore throat, fatigued muscles, decreased brain function.  However, the thing is trying to remember just how the other systems react to and try to compensate for another being out of commission.

In any case, I did well on the quiz, which is a good start to the class.  There is an exam on Tuesday of Week 3, which will include material from the first quiz as well as the material we covered this week.  Today was inflammation and immunity.  I think the inflammatory response is very interesting; there are so many mechanisms circulating in our body that can contribute to it.  And the immune response is also fascinating; I'm interested in what causes autoimmune disorders; I understand some disorders are congenital and others are acquired.  It almost makes it sound like there is something inherent in our DNA that can manifest from the time of birth or can be triggered or switched on at some point in our lives.  Very interesting thought, as this suggests that our bodies have the capacity for a self-destruct option.

The human body is truly amazing.  That is all.

Following Patho, we began a new class: Professional Nursing.  It was fun, to be sure.  We met a new professor, and we are actually only going to meet a few times (like, 4 total class times), so most of this class is online.  Over the course of this class, we will learn about the nursing profession, about our individual perceptions of nursing (our philosophy, what we think nursing is all about, our career paths, etc.), and putting together a portfolio.  It should definitely be an interesting class.

The day finished with an hour of open lab time for me and my partner.  We worked on bathing a patient in bed and changing the sheets at the same time.  As I understand it, this won't really be anything we will be doing a lot--just for patients who are unable to get out of bed.  One of our professors told us that if they can encourage the patient to get out of bed and sit in a chair, they do.  Also, bathing a patient is something that is more of an assist thing, doing what the patient can't do on their own.  In any case, I think it's a great skill to learn; it's a good lesson in how to move the patient as little as possible (as few turns and rolls) while keeping the patient as modest as possible (keep them covered and warm).

And, another good lesson is that our "patients" (the mannequins) are a little bit male, and a little bit female.  And here I was calling him/her "Mr. Smith", not realizing the breasts he/she had.  So, now I just call my patient Pat.  I figure that's better than getting flustered by the confusion of calling him/her John or Jane Doe.

So, that's all for Day 8.  All in all a good day!