CLINICAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Early day to start, but thankfully I got lots of sleep the night before... yeah... right... I survived on coffee!! You know those stress dreams you get right before a big day (usually the first day of school for me....). Yeah, I had some of those.
Anyways, I got to the hospital right on time (0650) to allow enough time to get up to the floor for morning report. We got reports and our patient assignments (6 of my group mates were paired up because of low census; I was by myself--scary!!). I had a patient who had severe COPD. We were supposed to spend some time talking to our patient to gather their social history and past medical history. Unfortunately, my patient (who was set to go home) had some severe deterioration and progressed to where he could only say one syllable at a time. I did what I was assigned to do (took two sets of vitals, monitored Is & Os, did a quick head to toe assessment, and charted), as well as a few additional things (got him coffee, made sure RT was called for breathing treatments, and got him a change of pajamas). Overall, I was pretty happy with the day, although there was one or two things I messed up on. I promise you that I will never mess up on those again, though!!
At the end of shift, I had to report to my patient's nurse. I was glad she paid attention to my well-delivered report... yeah... because one can pay attention while doing a crossword puzzle and not making eye contact..... Nurse's eat their young.
After clinicals, I came home and crashed for about 5 hours.... I didn't really do anything to make me tired; I think it was just because of such a buildup of stress and anticipation for the clinicals and then to have it over with really took a load off my shoulders!!
Anyways, nothing else planned for the weekend, except to study, study, study. Four exams next week!!!
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Sept. 16, 2011
Alas, today was supposed to be a day off... but it wasn't. With the whole mess-up of the VA stuff, I had to go in for computer training from 0800 to 1100. It was okay, kind of boring, but we got our passwords and learned how to use the EMR system, which was good. Also, we got to finish the badge process (although they weren't done by the end of the day) and meet our clinical instructor. We got a tour of the floor we are going to be working on, too, which was nice!
And, I didn't get to do my check-offs today, but that was okay by me. I came home and relaxed and got everything ready for my FIRST clinical!! I also had to finish writing a few essays for my professional nursing class, so that was good.
Not much else to report for the end of the week. Overall, not a terribly busy week, but certainly a lot of buildup for CLINICALS!!!!
And, I didn't get to do my check-offs today, but that was okay by me. I came home and relaxed and got everything ready for my FIRST clinical!! I also had to finish writing a few essays for my professional nursing class, so that was good.
Not much else to report for the end of the week. Overall, not a terribly busy week, but certainly a lot of buildup for CLINICALS!!!!
Sept. 15, 2011
Communcation.... Blarg. This is not my favorite class, I am sorry to say. It starts at 8 (instead of the usual 9:00 for the rest of the classes) and runs until 5 (instead of the usual 4:00). I know I shouldn't complain...
Anyways, we lectured on teaching -- different learning styles and how best to present information to each style, as well as developmental considerations (i.e. older adults require more time to process information; children do better with teaching through play).
Also, we learned about special needs--how to assess if someone has special needs and how best to teach someone with those needs.
Unfortunately, I missed a big chunk of this lecture, because I had to go to the VA hospital to begin the process of getting my badge. I spent an hour away from class total in order to spend 10 minutes with the person processing information. Needless to say, I was slightly frustrated about that. But, flexibility in nursing is what they teach us! So, flexibility I must have!
Following lunch, we changed gears a bit, talking about the standardized patient activity we're going to do. We have to record a conversation with a patient and determine our therapeutic techniques as well as our blocks, and what nonverbal communication was exchanged. Scary, because sometimes I can't remember what I talked about five minutes prior to when I'm thinking.... I can usually trace back but I am worried about having to remember every detail.
Then, we spent about 45 minutes focusing on how to interpret the nurse's thoughts and the nurse's feelings. The professor (who hasn't been teaching for many years) fixated on the word "THAT". After we do this conversation with a standardized patient, we are supposed to write down what was said, what techniques were used, and then interpret our feelings as well as the patient's. Her concern is that we distinguish feelings and thoughts.
Where she got flustered was trying to explain that if we say "I felt THAT", the "that" is an indication that it's not a feeling, it's a thought. If that doesn't make sense, don't worry--it really doesn't. What she was TRYING to get at is if someone says "I felt" followed by the word "that", it's probably a thought, versus saying "I felt" followed by an emotion (i.e. happy, sad, exasperated, etc.), which would be a feeling. She spent a good long time confusing the class about this; actually, if I'm honest, most people tuned her out after about 5 or 10 minutes (myself included).
So, her first lecture after not teaching for many years didn't go so well. I halfway wish my appointment time for the VA stuff would have been later in the day....
The last part of the day, though, was awesome. We got to simulate special needs and then do discharge teaching. So, I wore cataract goggles and earplugs to simulate visual and auditory deficits. I then had to repeat back how much medication I was to take, when my next appointment was, what my activity and diet restrictions are, and sign the discharge plan with those deficits. Wow... cataracts suck... I was dizzy after a few minutes of wearing those.
Then, I had to walk my partner through the same discharge plan and teaching while she was wearing hearing plugs and glaucoma goggles. Hehe, she could see more clearly than I could, but she had no peripheral vision. It was pretty fun and enlightening!
Anyways, we lectured on teaching -- different learning styles and how best to present information to each style, as well as developmental considerations (i.e. older adults require more time to process information; children do better with teaching through play).
Also, we learned about special needs--how to assess if someone has special needs and how best to teach someone with those needs.
Unfortunately, I missed a big chunk of this lecture, because I had to go to the VA hospital to begin the process of getting my badge. I spent an hour away from class total in order to spend 10 minutes with the person processing information. Needless to say, I was slightly frustrated about that. But, flexibility in nursing is what they teach us! So, flexibility I must have!
Following lunch, we changed gears a bit, talking about the standardized patient activity we're going to do. We have to record a conversation with a patient and determine our therapeutic techniques as well as our blocks, and what nonverbal communication was exchanged. Scary, because sometimes I can't remember what I talked about five minutes prior to when I'm thinking.... I can usually trace back but I am worried about having to remember every detail.
Then, we spent about 45 minutes focusing on how to interpret the nurse's thoughts and the nurse's feelings. The professor (who hasn't been teaching for many years) fixated on the word "THAT". After we do this conversation with a standardized patient, we are supposed to write down what was said, what techniques were used, and then interpret our feelings as well as the patient's. Her concern is that we distinguish feelings and thoughts.
Where she got flustered was trying to explain that if we say "I felt THAT", the "that" is an indication that it's not a feeling, it's a thought. If that doesn't make sense, don't worry--it really doesn't. What she was TRYING to get at is if someone says "I felt" followed by the word "that", it's probably a thought, versus saying "I felt" followed by an emotion (i.e. happy, sad, exasperated, etc.), which would be a feeling. She spent a good long time confusing the class about this; actually, if I'm honest, most people tuned her out after about 5 or 10 minutes (myself included).
So, her first lecture after not teaching for many years didn't go so well. I halfway wish my appointment time for the VA stuff would have been later in the day....
The last part of the day, though, was awesome. We got to simulate special needs and then do discharge teaching. So, I wore cataract goggles and earplugs to simulate visual and auditory deficits. I then had to repeat back how much medication I was to take, when my next appointment was, what my activity and diet restrictions are, and sign the discharge plan with those deficits. Wow... cataracts suck... I was dizzy after a few minutes of wearing those.
Then, I had to walk my partner through the same discharge plan and teaching while she was wearing hearing plugs and glaucoma goggles. Hehe, she could see more clearly than I could, but she had no peripheral vision. It was pretty fun and enlightening!
Sept. 14, 2011
Patho lecture is the order of the day! Today was renal and urologic disorders. This is another pretty fascinating area of study. The kidney system is amazing. It filters so much through our bodies and has a great capacity for this, but some disease processes cause a minor decrease in function and can then overwhelm them very easily. Once again, this can throw off the entire body system: respiratory, cardiac, neurologic, etc.
Then, because we finished somewhat early, our professor started us on the respiratory system (because there is a LOT on respiratory disorders).
That was it for the day, which was a nice change of pace, although there was homework and studying to follow the lecture. It's good to have the afternoon off, though, to get it all done!
AND -- we are almost at midterm already!! That means I've completed nearly half of an entire semester (something like 7.5 weeks) in about 4. Wow.... That's almost insane.
Then, because we finished somewhat early, our professor started us on the respiratory system (because there is a LOT on respiratory disorders).
That was it for the day, which was a nice change of pace, although there was homework and studying to follow the lecture. It's good to have the afternoon off, though, to get it all done!
AND -- we are almost at midterm already!! That means I've completed nearly half of an entire semester (something like 7.5 weeks) in about 4. Wow.... That's almost insane.
Sept. 13, 2011
This day was a looooooooooooooong day. Health Assessment class started an hour earlier, which was... painful.... It's hard to get into a rhythm and then have something break that rhythm. Today was special considerations for assessing a hospitalized patient, and then we switched gears to the Denver II lecture. We have to do a Denver II assessment on a child under the age of 4 to see their developmental age.
Then, Patho was an interesting day. We took a quiz on endocrine and circulation disorders & cardiac failure. It wasn't terrible. Endocrine is a really hard "system" to study, because there are so many hormones involved, and you have to know what happens when there's an EXCESS or a DEFICIENCY in circulation of each hormone. For the most part, if you can learn what happens with just the excess, the exact opposite happens with a deficiency. But still.... it's complicated... I did poorly with endocrine when I took A&P. I am happy to report, though, that I think I'm doing much better with it at this point!
Then, we lectured on issues with conduction and structure of the heart. Love, love, love the heart. Have I mentioned that? So interesting how something small that is wrong, like a small hole between the atria, can throw off the entire body!
Then, Patho was an interesting day. We took a quiz on endocrine and circulation disorders & cardiac failure. It wasn't terrible. Endocrine is a really hard "system" to study, because there are so many hormones involved, and you have to know what happens when there's an EXCESS or a DEFICIENCY in circulation of each hormone. For the most part, if you can learn what happens with just the excess, the exact opposite happens with a deficiency. But still.... it's complicated... I did poorly with endocrine when I took A&P. I am happy to report, though, that I think I'm doing much better with it at this point!
Then, we lectured on issues with conduction and structure of the heart. Love, love, love the heart. Have I mentioned that? So interesting how something small that is wrong, like a small hole between the atria, can throw off the entire body!
Sept. 12, 2011
I'm late, and I know it. I've been kind of lazy about blogging lately, but I'm determined to get caught up tonight! We'll see how well that goes. In other news, I'm giving up on stating what day number it is, and instead converting to what date I'm writing about.
So, Monday the 12th. This day brought an abbreviation quiz (the last one!) which went pretty well, although I disagree with the one question I got wrong. The test was structured as doctor's orders and we had to answer questions about it, centered around what the abbreviations were. The one I got wrong was regarding a cardiac patient who was put on BR (bed rest). The question was: can this patient get up and go to the bathroom? I said yes, because I figured it wouldn't be too much stress for the patient to get up and go to the bathroom, but apparently this is not the case.
Following this, we lectured on the cardiac and peripheral vascular system assessments. The hardest part about the cardiac assessment is listening to the chest, especially with a female. They don't really teach you how to work around modesty for a female patient and especially with large-chested women. Other than that, it's just a matter of remembering where you hear each valve best.
The professors let us out a bit early today, which was nice because we had the White Coat Ceremony! They said they were "cloaking" us, but really, they just helped us into our white jackets and then we all said the nurse's oath and we got to take a picture with the Dean of the School of Nursing. This is a more modern version of a hat ceremony; I guess before major concerns with organism contamination, student nurses were given the traditional nurse's white hat as a welcome into the nursing profession.
Families were given the opportunity to write on a card for their student, which was then placed in the pockets of that student's white jacket. My mom gave me two cards, each with some wisdom and motivational stuff. She also included the Nurse's Prayer:
This made for some good laughs and certainly made my evening! :)
Following the ceremony, I had to attend a support group for an assignment. I went to a support group for stroke survivors. It wasn't really what I thought of as a support group, where everyone sits around and speaks about their experiences. This was more of an educational session, and the topic of the evening was living in the moment (not fretting about the past or the future). It was very informative and was a great group of people! There was a lot of positive interaction before and after the lecture, which was good to see.
So, that was about it for the day. A good evening, overall :)
So, Monday the 12th. This day brought an abbreviation quiz (the last one!) which went pretty well, although I disagree with the one question I got wrong. The test was structured as doctor's orders and we had to answer questions about it, centered around what the abbreviations were. The one I got wrong was regarding a cardiac patient who was put on BR (bed rest). The question was: can this patient get up and go to the bathroom? I said yes, because I figured it wouldn't be too much stress for the patient to get up and go to the bathroom, but apparently this is not the case.
Following this, we lectured on the cardiac and peripheral vascular system assessments. The hardest part about the cardiac assessment is listening to the chest, especially with a female. They don't really teach you how to work around modesty for a female patient and especially with large-chested women. Other than that, it's just a matter of remembering where you hear each valve best.
The professors let us out a bit early today, which was nice because we had the White Coat Ceremony! They said they were "cloaking" us, but really, they just helped us into our white jackets and then we all said the nurse's oath and we got to take a picture with the Dean of the School of Nursing. This is a more modern version of a hat ceremony; I guess before major concerns with organism contamination, student nurses were given the traditional nurse's white hat as a welcome into the nursing profession.
Families were given the opportunity to write on a card for their student, which was then placed in the pockets of that student's white jacket. My mom gave me two cards, each with some wisdom and motivational stuff. She also included the Nurse's Prayer:
Dear Lord,
grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can, and the
wisdom to hide the bodies of those Doctors I had to kill because they pushed me too far....
Following the ceremony, I had to attend a support group for an assignment. I went to a support group for stroke survivors. It wasn't really what I thought of as a support group, where everyone sits around and speaks about their experiences. This was more of an educational session, and the topic of the evening was living in the moment (not fretting about the past or the future). It was very informative and was a great group of people! There was a lot of positive interaction before and after the lecture, which was good to see.
So, that was about it for the day. A good evening, overall :)
Sunday, September 11, 2011
End of Week 3, Beginning Week 4
I just looked at the calendar earlier today, and wrote up on my whiteboard all of my assignments and just got organized for the upcoming week, and insodoing noticed that in one month, I will be just about done with this term! It's flying right on by!! I'm grateful for this, although the weekends seem to drag on. I know I shouldn't complain, because once I start clinicals, there just won't be ENOUGH weekend. But, I feel like I get up some good, time-killing momentum during the week allowing time to fly right on by, and then it fizzles in the weekend.
Oh well. This past week, I got a care package from my parents and a care package from my boyfriend. My parents sent me some good stuff--some healthy snacks, a shirt, some party lights, and a puzzle (I LOVE puzzles). I've already reviewed some of the contents of the care package from my boyfriend (I'm still baffled about the "edible" crickets....), but I've decided to share one item with everyone. The ridiculously huge, baseball-sized jawbreaker. I figure it will be interesting to take weekly pictures of it to determine how long it takes to demolish such a huge piece of candy (unless someone is grossed out by it... please let me know, and i am happy to make arrangements so the picture isn't readily available for everyone to see).
Also, I wanted to share my cacti. My boyfriend thought it would be good for me to have something to take care of while I was away. Although, it escapes me why we thought sharp, pokey plants were a good idea for someone as accident-prone and klutzy as me. It will be another challenge--to see if I can, in fact, keep them alive for one year!
And speaking of time, We are down UNDER 100 days until I fly home for Christmas! If you didn't notice, I'm pretty excited about it ^_^
Back to classes tomorrow, although this week will be pretty light, since lab was frontloaded and is actually mostly done!
And, a quote to go:
A woman is like a tea bag - you can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water. ~Eleanor Roosevelt
Oh well. This past week, I got a care package from my parents and a care package from my boyfriend. My parents sent me some good stuff--some healthy snacks, a shirt, some party lights, and a puzzle (I LOVE puzzles). I've already reviewed some of the contents of the care package from my boyfriend (I'm still baffled about the "edible" crickets....), but I've decided to share one item with everyone. The ridiculously huge, baseball-sized jawbreaker. I figure it will be interesting to take weekly pictures of it to determine how long it takes to demolish such a huge piece of candy (unless someone is grossed out by it... please let me know, and i am happy to make arrangements so the picture isn't readily available for everyone to see).
Also, I wanted to share my cacti. My boyfriend thought it would be good for me to have something to take care of while I was away. Although, it escapes me why we thought sharp, pokey plants were a good idea for someone as accident-prone and klutzy as me. It will be another challenge--to see if I can, in fact, keep them alive for one year!
And speaking of time, We are down UNDER 100 days until I fly home for Christmas! If you didn't notice, I'm pretty excited about it ^_^
So this is the monster jawbreaker....
See? Baseball sized, roughly.....
This is one of my cacti; I love it, because it is multiple colors and just looks odd but cool
This is my three-for-one cacti pot; I love the way this is arranged!
And finally, my mini-saguaro (although I am sure that they are not actually in any way related to saguaro cacti...)
Back to classes tomorrow, although this week will be pretty light, since lab was frontloaded and is actually mostly done!
And, a quote to go:
A woman is like a tea bag - you can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water. ~Eleanor Roosevelt
Day 15 (NO SCHOOL!!)
Today was supposed to be orientation at the VA hospital for clinicals, but 2 hours before the scheduled meeting time, the professor called in a panic to say that we weren't having our orientation. Apparently, there was a delay with getting our fingerprints back from the government (perhaps DHS?) and that without them, we couldn't even do the introductory class. Orientation is rescheduled to next Friday, but I admit that I am disappointed. I was looking forward to getting it taken care of. Also, the new orientation time conflicts with my check-off time; I'm still not sure how that's going to work, although it sounds like we will just do them at the VA while we are there.
So, today was a nice day off, despite a rather crazy change in plans.
Day 14
Right, so I am happy that today is actually the last day of this week! No classes for Friday!!
The only downside is that today is ALL DAY communications. It's kind of rough to do the same class, all day, starting an hour earlier and lasting an hour longer, at the end of the week. In any case, today was good, because we learned about charting and doing nursing diagnoses.
The best way I can describe nursing diagnoses is describing the problem, the physiology, and the evidence (your observations) without actually naming a disease. So, something like Congestive Heart Failure could be characterized by a lot of issues. Let's run with edema. What you could say, as a nurse for a diagnosis, is "decreased cardiac output r/t (related to) impaired cardiac function aeb (as evidenced by) bilateral lower extremity edema". Basically, nursing diagnoses back up the medical diagnosis, but also go beyond just what you see. As nurses, we are expected to look to spiritual health, emotional health, psychological health, and any educational deficits (i.e. nutrition, hygiene) a person may have.
We also had a presentation on concept mapping, which we must do for our clinicals. We are to choose a patient, identify their primary medical diagnosis, say what the risk factors are, work out the pathophysiology of the primary diagnosis, look at diagnostic tests (lab work), take note of assessment findings, and then write out nursing diagnoses and interventions. And, as if that wasn't enough fun, we have to draw the arrows that connect certain pieces of data from one section to another. Wow. But, I am happy to say that I'm kind of excited for this, because I know it will help so much to start thinking like that.
The only downside is that today is ALL DAY communications. It's kind of rough to do the same class, all day, starting an hour earlier and lasting an hour longer, at the end of the week. In any case, today was good, because we learned about charting and doing nursing diagnoses.
The best way I can describe nursing diagnoses is describing the problem, the physiology, and the evidence (your observations) without actually naming a disease. So, something like Congestive Heart Failure could be characterized by a lot of issues. Let's run with edema. What you could say, as a nurse for a diagnosis, is "decreased cardiac output r/t (related to) impaired cardiac function aeb (as evidenced by) bilateral lower extremity edema". Basically, nursing diagnoses back up the medical diagnosis, but also go beyond just what you see. As nurses, we are expected to look to spiritual health, emotional health, psychological health, and any educational deficits (i.e. nutrition, hygiene) a person may have.
We also had a presentation on concept mapping, which we must do for our clinicals. We are to choose a patient, identify their primary medical diagnosis, say what the risk factors are, work out the pathophysiology of the primary diagnosis, look at diagnostic tests (lab work), take note of assessment findings, and then write out nursing diagnoses and interventions. And, as if that wasn't enough fun, we have to draw the arrows that connect certain pieces of data from one section to another. Wow. But, I am happy to say that I'm kind of excited for this, because I know it will help so much to start thinking like that.
Day 13
So, this day 13 is actually Wednesday of Week 3.
Today started with Pathophysiology, which is slowly becoming one of my favorite classes. I'm probably just saying that, though, because today we went over vascular diseases and (drumroll please) cardiac diseases. I love the heart, and I have since I first studied it in A&P. It's so interesting. How could someone not appreciate the engine of the body?
Anyways, my strange fascination with the heart was fed today with a great lecture. It still amazes me just how many disease processes tie in together and exacerbate each other. One interesting tidbit from today was learning about Takotsubo cardiomyopathy. If it doesn't sound familiar, that's okay. It's better known as a broken heart. I came across this term while working in transcription once, and how it got named is pretty cool. When it was discovered in Japan, the way the heart dilated looked like an octopus trap, so that's what it was called: tako tsubo. It is caused by emotional stress, which causes a release of catecholamines (adrenaline, essentially). This weakens the heart walls, and while it is a reversible process, it isn't always discovered in time. Because of the association with emotional stress, it earned the name "broken heart syndrome".
So yes, there is such a thing as dying of a broken heart.
Afternoon was lab. We did abdominal assessments (woohoo!). It was pretty... gross... to listen to abdominal sounds, although they are unmistakable for anything else! We also administered enemas. Don't worry, not on each other!! We worked on the mannequin butts they had specifically for enema administration. Our lab day concluded with assisting with feeding. Yes, we had to blindfold our partner and feed them a spoonful of either pudding or applesauce, and then help them drink a small cup of juice. Yes, it was messy. Yes, my partner ended up having pudding on her face. Yes, it was hilarious! Although, I will say that if I were actually in a patient-nurse situation, it would not have been funny.
I'm including a picture of the Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, so you can see how the heart would look (and I suppose also how an octopus trap looks). And, for credit purposes, I borrowed this from Wikipedia.
"A" is Takotsubo cardiomyopathy; "B" is a normal heart.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Day 12 (actually Day 11)
So, considering the holiday and a Monday through Friday week, I am calling this day Day 12 to help me remember what day of the week it was.... That's probably confusing, but I would forget which day it was otherwise.
Right, so this day began with an abbreviation quiz; I made up note cards and practiced the ones I couldn't seem to get right.... I then proceeded to totally rock this quiz. Then health assessment lecture proceeded to go over pain assessment and abdomen assessment. Basically the subjectivity of pain and the cultural expressions (or lack thereof) of pain make it an important thing for nurses to assess. It is often called the fifth Vital Sign (the others, of course, are blood pressure, temperature, heart rate, and respiratory rate; I would make an argument, though, for pulse oximetry to be on the list, too....). Following pain, we got to go over elimination (urination, defecation), and watched a DVD on how to do the abdominal assessment.
After lunch was Pathophysiology with examination number 1. It was a challenging examination, but I actually felt that it was easier than the first quiz! I ended up getting a 98% on it, which I am pretty proud of. I love, love LOVE this class (and not because I'm doing well). I feel that I am understanding the material, and I really enjoy how the professors use actual case studies that THEY have worked on to apply the material.
Patho lecture was then over the endocrine system, which was interesting enough, although I admit remembering all the hormones secreted by the endocrine glands has always been a challenge for me. I sense the need for more note cards....
In other news, George (the cricket) scared the bejeezus out of me this morning when he showed up in the bathroom; I had been wondering where he was, because I hadn't seen him lurking along the floorboards in my room for a few days. When I got home from school, though, he was waiting right by the door to my room... I think he wanted to go back to his domain.
Oh, and I got the first care package from my boyfriend today. He sent along some goodies and some fun socks and the art book from a video game that I really like. And, because I told him about George and the other crickets living with me, he sent me some Crick-Ettes, which are dried, edible, seasoned crickets... Sour Cream and Onion flavor.... gee... thanks.... I'm still not sure what to do with them...
And, to finish everything off, let me share a lovely quote:
Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. ~Mohandas Gandhi
Monday, September 5, 2011
Long weekend -- Labor Day!
So, as I mentioned, I was fending off a cold at the end of week two, which caused about 14 hours of sleep in a 24-hour period. I spent most of my weekend just trying to stay warm and comfortable and get well. Which was successful, actually. I feel much better today, which is just in time for school tomorrow morning.
This is the first long weekend I've had so far, and I must say that it is very lonely. It was pointed out to me that most of my posts have been about what has been going on in school, and nothing really about my feelings. So, I think there is more in the way of feelings in my past few posts, and I'm going to try to add more of it in. It makes sense to give a broad picture of everything about this experience, not just what's happening in class.
Outside of class, I can say that I've had some stress in terms of my family's wellness. And, for me, it's very hard to be so far from home, and so far from my best friend who is also my boyfriend. It's added insult to injury that most of my classmates have the luxury of having their husbands/wives and children either here in town or close enough to visit them on the weekends. I'm happy for my classmates, I really am. Family is so important, and it probably helps them keep their sanity.
I admit that I am very sad and lonely, and I still haven't really found a way to take the edge off. Being in class and being busy during the week is very helpful, but weekends, and especially this long weekend, are hard, because I don't really have anything to do to take my mind off missing home. This is the main stressor for me; it's not really that my classes are hard; they are demanding but not so difficult (knock on wood). So, for anyone who is reading this and may be thinking about an ABSN program, just know that if you are planning on leaving behind loved ones, it will be hard and emotionally taxing. I am grateful that I am able to speak to my boyfriend every day, and that we get to use Skype to see each other. It's not quite the same as being in the same room together, but it's good enough to lift our spirits.
On the up side, I can see some good in being away from my loved ones. For one thing, I can see potential for being distracted should my boyfriend or family be here with me; I would rather spend my time with them than do my homework. I'm grateful to not have an excuse to slack off. Also, it seems cliche to say, but absence makes the heart grow fonder. I am finding this to be true. The moments I get to spend talking to him on the phone are very precious to me, and the time we get to have together at Christmas and Spring Break, and especially the time after this year is over will be even more precious to me than they were before.
Now, let me leave this topic with one caveat; I'm not asking for sympathy or for anyone to feel sorry for me. I just simply wanted to express realistically what this journey entails.
In other news, I have discovered that I live with a family of crickets. Yes, they share my basement apartment. Yes, it kind of freaks me out a little bit, but I'm also a bit superstitious about killing them. That seems irrational to say, but what if they are lucky crickets? Is my luck increased by the fact that I have around 5 of them living here with me? Would said potential for luck be decreased by killing any of them? Am I a bit mental for thinking this way? Probably. In any case, I sort of enjoy them being here, except for the one in my bedroom. I have a love-hate relationship with that one. He likes to creep over to where I sit, and out of the corner of my eye, I am freaked out by the possibility that I am seeing a cockroach, but am soon thereafter pissed off at George for creeping up on me. Yes, I just named him George as I was typing this. George is also fond of living under my bed. And chirping. In the middle of the night. I don't know why I expected any less of a cricket, but there you have it. I am curious to test my mom's tidbit of knowledge to check the temperature in my room. Apparently, depending on the temperature, the cricket will chirp at different rates (i.e. warmer temperatures = more chirps per minute; colder temperatures = less chirps per minute).
I've discovered that there are also small (baby?) crickets--at least 3. So, I am under the impression that there are about 5 crickets that live here with me. And don't worry about my sanity--I won't name them all. Just George. And no, I have no idea how I will distinguish him from the others, beyond that he lives in my room.
So, there's a bit of a glimpse into my life at the moment. Thank you all for reading! For all the interesting things happening, I actually love being in school and love what I'm learning! And now, back to the books for the exam and quiz tomorrow!! Woohoo!!
This is the first long weekend I've had so far, and I must say that it is very lonely. It was pointed out to me that most of my posts have been about what has been going on in school, and nothing really about my feelings. So, I think there is more in the way of feelings in my past few posts, and I'm going to try to add more of it in. It makes sense to give a broad picture of everything about this experience, not just what's happening in class.
Outside of class, I can say that I've had some stress in terms of my family's wellness. And, for me, it's very hard to be so far from home, and so far from my best friend who is also my boyfriend. It's added insult to injury that most of my classmates have the luxury of having their husbands/wives and children either here in town or close enough to visit them on the weekends. I'm happy for my classmates, I really am. Family is so important, and it probably helps them keep their sanity.
I admit that I am very sad and lonely, and I still haven't really found a way to take the edge off. Being in class and being busy during the week is very helpful, but weekends, and especially this long weekend, are hard, because I don't really have anything to do to take my mind off missing home. This is the main stressor for me; it's not really that my classes are hard; they are demanding but not so difficult (knock on wood). So, for anyone who is reading this and may be thinking about an ABSN program, just know that if you are planning on leaving behind loved ones, it will be hard and emotionally taxing. I am grateful that I am able to speak to my boyfriend every day, and that we get to use Skype to see each other. It's not quite the same as being in the same room together, but it's good enough to lift our spirits.
On the up side, I can see some good in being away from my loved ones. For one thing, I can see potential for being distracted should my boyfriend or family be here with me; I would rather spend my time with them than do my homework. I'm grateful to not have an excuse to slack off. Also, it seems cliche to say, but absence makes the heart grow fonder. I am finding this to be true. The moments I get to spend talking to him on the phone are very precious to me, and the time we get to have together at Christmas and Spring Break, and especially the time after this year is over will be even more precious to me than they were before.
Now, let me leave this topic with one caveat; I'm not asking for sympathy or for anyone to feel sorry for me. I just simply wanted to express realistically what this journey entails.
In other news, I have discovered that I live with a family of crickets. Yes, they share my basement apartment. Yes, it kind of freaks me out a little bit, but I'm also a bit superstitious about killing them. That seems irrational to say, but what if they are lucky crickets? Is my luck increased by the fact that I have around 5 of them living here with me? Would said potential for luck be decreased by killing any of them? Am I a bit mental for thinking this way? Probably. In any case, I sort of enjoy them being here, except for the one in my bedroom. I have a love-hate relationship with that one. He likes to creep over to where I sit, and out of the corner of my eye, I am freaked out by the possibility that I am seeing a cockroach, but am soon thereafter pissed off at George for creeping up on me. Yes, I just named him George as I was typing this. George is also fond of living under my bed. And chirping. In the middle of the night. I don't know why I expected any less of a cricket, but there you have it. I am curious to test my mom's tidbit of knowledge to check the temperature in my room. Apparently, depending on the temperature, the cricket will chirp at different rates (i.e. warmer temperatures = more chirps per minute; colder temperatures = less chirps per minute).
I've discovered that there are also small (baby?) crickets--at least 3. So, I am under the impression that there are about 5 crickets that live here with me. And don't worry about my sanity--I won't name them all. Just George. And no, I have no idea how I will distinguish him from the others, beyond that he lives in my room.
So, there's a bit of a glimpse into my life at the moment. Thank you all for reading! For all the interesting things happening, I actually love being in school and love what I'm learning! And now, back to the books for the exam and quiz tomorrow!! Woohoo!!
Day 10 (yeah, yeah >.<)
Short day! Only a few hours, but it included an quiz. Which wasn't terrible at all, actually! Following a brief quiz, half of the class went into the lab for more skill learning, and the other half stayed to watch movies about the consequences of being bedridden and what happens with patients aren't able to move or aren't moved (i.e. pressure ulcers, muscular atrophy, etc.). I was in the half that stayed and watched movies. Halfway through the remaining class time, the groups switched. I got a new lab partner temporarily, so we got to practice helping each other walk with the gait belt, catching the other who falls (ease them to the floor).
We also practiced doing transfers from one bed to another with a transfer board. Oddly enough, it seems there were two opinions about how to use a transfer board. Our lab content DVD told us to use it as a bridge, but one of our professors told us to use the board to slide the patient. The latter makes more sense; the plastic will slide a lot better over sheets than trying to use it as a bridge. Either way, we create friction trying to drag the patient, but it seems overall it would be easier to use the board to decrease effort. We used the biggest guy in class (I would say maybe 6'0", 230 pounds, muscular, Army-type) to transfer, and he said it was good fun getting slid about.
Then, we had our very petite professor (maybe 5'0", 100 pounds) show us how to help a patient to the floor with the gait belt, using the Army-type guy, which was interesting to watch. I shouldn't laugh, because she did a great job: she did exactly what she was supposed to: help the patient slide to the floor and prevent a head injury. But, to do so, she also found her way to the floor. She was a good sport about it, and it was a good lesson that no matter the size difference between you and your patient, you can do it (although she recommended not having such a huge size difference or having another nurse assist if there is a great size difference).
The other things we did were to practice putting bed pans in place and removing them, bed-to-chair transfers, chair-to-bed transfers, and practiced with the Hoyer lift. It was a pretty good day in lab; there was quite a bit to learn and getting to practice with a walker and a cane and falling really gives a good insight for what it would be like as a patient, which can give a nurse good insight on what to say and how best to help. Oh, and I'm getting really good at taking vitals! I'm excited for my check-off, because I've got a pretty fluid system on how to do it in the shortest amount of time and without harassing the patient too much!
I then went home at noon and proceeded directly to bed and slept for six hours. I have a great immune system: it keeps me well until weekends! To be honest, I have been very stressed out, which definitely weakens the immune system. So, after six hours of sleep, I was up for another few, and then slept for another eight! My next post will go over the weekend!
Week 2 complete; only 15 more until Christmas break!
We also practiced doing transfers from one bed to another with a transfer board. Oddly enough, it seems there were two opinions about how to use a transfer board. Our lab content DVD told us to use it as a bridge, but one of our professors told us to use the board to slide the patient. The latter makes more sense; the plastic will slide a lot better over sheets than trying to use it as a bridge. Either way, we create friction trying to drag the patient, but it seems overall it would be easier to use the board to decrease effort. We used the biggest guy in class (I would say maybe 6'0", 230 pounds, muscular, Army-type) to transfer, and he said it was good fun getting slid about.
Then, we had our very petite professor (maybe 5'0", 100 pounds) show us how to help a patient to the floor with the gait belt, using the Army-type guy, which was interesting to watch. I shouldn't laugh, because she did a great job: she did exactly what she was supposed to: help the patient slide to the floor and prevent a head injury. But, to do so, she also found her way to the floor. She was a good sport about it, and it was a good lesson that no matter the size difference between you and your patient, you can do it (although she recommended not having such a huge size difference or having another nurse assist if there is a great size difference).
The other things we did were to practice putting bed pans in place and removing them, bed-to-chair transfers, chair-to-bed transfers, and practiced with the Hoyer lift. It was a pretty good day in lab; there was quite a bit to learn and getting to practice with a walker and a cane and falling really gives a good insight for what it would be like as a patient, which can give a nurse good insight on what to say and how best to help. Oh, and I'm getting really good at taking vitals! I'm excited for my check-off, because I've got a pretty fluid system on how to do it in the shortest amount of time and without harassing the patient too much!
I then went home at noon and proceeded directly to bed and slept for six hours. I have a great immune system: it keeps me well until weekends! To be honest, I have been very stressed out, which definitely weakens the immune system. So, after six hours of sleep, I was up for another few, and then slept for another eight! My next post will go over the weekend!
Week 2 complete; only 15 more until Christmas break!
Day 9 (also late >.<)
So Week 2 is almost over (well, it is as I'm writing this, but you get what I mean). Today was professional communication once again. We were supposed to chart today, but didn't quite get there. Today was focused on learning about the people in our clinical groups, as we are going to spend quite a bit of time with them. So, we had to all sit together and find three things we had in common with the entire group (we came up with all of us had our ears pierced, none of us were only children, and none of us had our own children) as well as one thing that each of had that was unique from the rest of the group. I made the mistake of admitting I used to do musical theater, which came back to bite me later when the professor needed some "actors" to act out some scenarios. Not that I'm afraid of getting up in front of the class; it's just that I unintentionally volunteered myself. That probably doesn't make sense. Oh well, it was still fun. I got to be the evil nurse who didn't therapeutically speak to the patient's family. Bwahaha!!
That was actually the topic of the day--therapeutic communication. Basically, this is just being sensitive to clients (patients, family, etc.) and their needs and communicating with kindness, consideration, and in layman's terms (which also reflects kindness). Beyond the medical skills, being able to communicate effectively with the clients is the most important skill a nurse has. When I think of the times my family have been in the hospital, it has always been the nurses who can make or break an experience. And it's more than just verbal communication; there is also nonverbal communication that adds into this. Body language speaks very loudly and clearly if someone really means what they say; if someone says they have time to talk but are looking at their watch, chances are they aren't very believable.
And, in order to further reinforce this, the professors had us watch some very old, very outdated movies about therapeutic communication. The running joke for probably the rest of the term (and perhaps the rest of the year?) is one of the general leads shown in this 20+-year-old video. The patient was distressed, and the nurse asked her a broad opening question, which lets the patient set the direction of the conversation--"You seem to be upset; is there anything wrong?". The patient started talking about what was bugging her, then paused. The nurse then did one of the general leads, "Oh?". With the pauses and facial expressions, it felt ridiculous and fake, but made for some good laughs in the class. "Oh?" has been used a few times in class since, which makes me think it will be around for a while.
So, just remember, if you want to encourage someone to continue, you can say "Oh?," "Yes?," or "Hmm".
That was actually the topic of the day--therapeutic communication. Basically, this is just being sensitive to clients (patients, family, etc.) and their needs and communicating with kindness, consideration, and in layman's terms (which also reflects kindness). Beyond the medical skills, being able to communicate effectively with the clients is the most important skill a nurse has. When I think of the times my family have been in the hospital, it has always been the nurses who can make or break an experience. And it's more than just verbal communication; there is also nonverbal communication that adds into this. Body language speaks very loudly and clearly if someone really means what they say; if someone says they have time to talk but are looking at their watch, chances are they aren't very believable.
And, in order to further reinforce this, the professors had us watch some very old, very outdated movies about therapeutic communication. The running joke for probably the rest of the term (and perhaps the rest of the year?) is one of the general leads shown in this 20+-year-old video. The patient was distressed, and the nurse asked her a broad opening question, which lets the patient set the direction of the conversation--"You seem to be upset; is there anything wrong?". The patient started talking about what was bugging her, then paused. The nurse then did one of the general leads, "Oh?". With the pauses and facial expressions, it felt ridiculous and fake, but made for some good laughs in the class. "Oh?" has been used a few times in class since, which makes me think it will be around for a while.
So, just remember, if you want to encourage someone to continue, you can say "Oh?," "Yes?," or "Hmm".
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!
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!
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