Thursday, December 16, 2010
Patients
Due to HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), I can't ever discuss the details of a patient's medical history, treatment, etc. with anyone besides the other healthcare providers working with that patient. That being said, I can share certain things with family, friends, etc. so long as I don't say the patients' names. I have talked and will talk more about the procedural aspects of nursing school and about what we're doing in regards to my life, but I wanted to take a minute and talk about, not the medical aspect of these patients' lives, but the human aspect. As even a nursing student, we're given an amazing opportunity to be let into people's lives and to really talk to them and get to know them; that's probably the main reason I chose nursing over being a physician, and I'm more than thrilled to see that it's already coming into play this early in my career. Even though it's only necessary to look in their chart for what's medically relevant to our patients, one thing I really like knowing personal details about the person so they feel like a human being instead of just a diagnosis and a list of meds. It's so easy to see the patients in the nursing home just for what they are now - old, broken down, sick, but these people's lives are just as complex as ours. They were our age once, and have done so much more with their lives than sit in a nursing home. One of my patients was in the Air Force, and probably fought in at least one war; it was odd because when you picture military, you think of men and women in the height of their physical strength and capability, but now that he's older, it's hard to imagine the man that he was. One of my favorite patients was born in Germany (in the same area where my family is from, actually) so I loved talking to her about it; then she told me she hadn't been home in 30-something years, and I tried to imagine what it was like the last time she went. Then I remembered her date of birth; she was my age when World War II started. I never did ask when she left Germany, but I imagine it was before or during the war, and I tried to imagine how I would feel, at my age or younger, leaving my country because of a war in our backyard. I would have liked to talk with her about it, but I didn't know how bad of a memory it was; if she hasn't been home very often, maybe it's because she wants to forget. I just would love to see through her eyes how different the world is now versus when she was my age. Another lady was in a similar situation, (she was never my patient so I didn't talk to her long), but from Italy. She, like the other lady, had just a hint of an accent in her English, which I absolutely loved. She told me about how she ended up in the nursing home after a car accident but also said she was grateful that her body was what failed her instead of her mind. She told me about her late husband who had remained in great physical shape all of his life, but his dementia got so bad that all he could remember was his name and Pearl Harbor. He didn't even remember his wife (he recognized her as a friend, but not as his wife), but he remembered what had happened to him at Pearl Harbor. That really stuck with me because I'm sure the same thing will be said about 9/11, which happened in my lifetime and which, since I was 11 at the time, I'm still processing. It just really put things into perspective and made me realize how complex people and life are. One thing that all of the patients told me was to "stay young and beautiful." Every time they said it, I would laugh a little, but in a way, it's great advice; I realize it's not actually possible to avoid aging (celebrities: that means stop trying), but seeing how much of a struggle it can be to simply get out of bed or walk or feed yourself had made me appreciate my health and youth so much more. Youth and life are so fleeting, so I plan to make the most out of it while I can; the worst thing in life, I think, wouldn't be to die young, but to be 80 years old, feeling like I wasted my life or didn't make the most of what I had when I had it. I hope not to ever be in a nursing home, but if I am, I want to be as inspiring to the nursing students taking care of me as my patients were.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Trial By Fire
Wow, I have been slacking in the blog department, though I think I have pretty good reason; the week of my first rotation was also the week of Fall Break, so I was busy finishing up some assignments and packing for my trip to Chicago. As soon as I got back and after my second day of rotation, I was studying for a fundamentals test the next day. So, even though I still have 2-3 assignments to do in the next few days, I wanted to go ahead and blog since I have a lot to say about rotations :)
Initially I was too tired my first morning to be nervous (waking up at 5:15 is not an easy feat for someone who’s not a morning person), but as my classmate Haley and I were on the way to the nursing home, we starting talking about what we would be doing, and I got really nervous (though nowhere near my nervousness the very first day of clinicals in the CSL). I already knew who my patient would be and general info about his health history and treatment plans, but I still had no idea what to expect upon actually meeting and working with him. Tracey took Danielle (my partner for the day) and me to our patient’s room, and basically said, “Take his vitals, get him in his wheelchair, and make his bed.” Ready GO! There were a few seconds of Danielle and me staring at each other, somewhat dumbfounded, before we got to work as best as we could. The first day was a roller coaster ride of insecurity and confidence; one minute I would feel totally unprepared and spastic, but the next I was surprising myself by doing something right or without having to be told. Starting at 7 am definitely has its benefits because we get to help with A.M care (bathing, making beds, transporting into the wheelchair), feeding them breakfast, and observing them in rehab; it’s not the most exciting stuff by any means, but staying busy makes the time move quickly, and each thing we get to do is a deposit in the “experience bank,” if you will. The thing I noticed most quickly was that it was so much less awkward touching the patients, especially in private areas, than I expected; I was expecting to be really uncomfortable with things like bathing, but when you’re in a situation where you’re caring for a patient, and especially one who has been in a situation for a while that lets them be at least somewhat used to being changed, bathed, etc. by a stranger, the necessity of what you’re doing makes it less awkward. I don’t really know how to explain it, but I guess it’s a “do what you gotta” kind of mindset. The other healthcare providers, especially the nurse techs we were working most closely with, were so helpful and patient with us; I do realize that we slow things down and get in the way at times, but how else are we supposed to learn? They made a point to commend us on what we were doing well and to thank us for helping them out; it was just a really great experience overall, especially when I’ve heard stories of more experienced HCPs being rude and impatient with us “newbies.” The patients were also really helpful and patient with us; most of them have been there long enough that they know how things are done even better than we do, and I can’t even say how much I appreciate them and their families letting us learn with them. I stayed with my patient for a while until he didn’t need anything else, and then floated around to help my classmates or whoever needed it. In rehab, we just watched the physical therapists work with the patients, which was interesting to compare with my experiences in athletic PT and volunteering with a PT in the hospital; plus it was (finally) an opportunity to sit down. Our lunch break was spent working on our care webs for the week while hastily eating (get used to it, right?). I feel like what I need to work with the most is interpersonal interactions, especially with the patients; I could tell how awkward I was when talking to them, mostly because of being afraid to say the wrong thing. I don’t enjoy being awkward, though I’m almost used to it by now haha, but I know that will come with experience, so I’m not being too hard on myself. I was also proud of how well everyone in my group did, and once again, I’m glad to be working alongside them. My experience with one of my patients really showed me how much I’ve changed in the past few years: I had gotten her to the bathroom and waited outside to give her some privacy. The tech had gone to get something from her car, but I was under the impression that she was coming back, mostly because she didn’t tell me what to do beyond getting the patient to the bathroom and that we were bathing her after. When the lady finished, I was scrambling to figure what to do next and one of my classmates walked in; the patient then starts telling her how she’s been sitting there forever and complaining about me when I was standing right there; in reality, she had been sitting there for maybe two minutes after she had finished. I actually started laughing (not in front of the patient of course) because I knew I hadn’t done anything wrong, but I realized that a year or two ago, I probably would have taken it really personally and gotten upset. The last thing we did was observe an in-and-out catheter; the patient had prostate enlargement so he couldn’t urinate on his own and instead of a continuous catheter, he was just to be catheterized 2-3 times daily to empty his bladder. Our classmate, Christian, actually did the catheter and did it well, which was impressive on his part, especially being watched by all of us. It was another interesting experience with how things are done in simulation versus in “real life.” I also have a new appreciation for my physical independence after seeing just how helpless someone can actually become; we try to maintain independence as much as possible, but it has to be frustrating for the patients, and I’m trying to start sympathizing and thinking more about how I would feel if the roles were reversed. My patient was doing relatively well when I was with him, but knowing his history, it was really sad to realize, in talking with Tracey, just what all he’s dealing with and what kind of prognosis he probably has; it’s sad any time you hear about someone in poor health, but when you’ve met and worked with the person, it’s a new level of emotion. Overall, it was a great experience getting to know a patient as more than a diagnosis and to start gaining experience in the technical and interpersonal aspects.
Initially I was too tired my first morning to be nervous (waking up at 5:15 is not an easy feat for someone who’s not a morning person), but as my classmate Haley and I were on the way to the nursing home, we starting talking about what we would be doing, and I got really nervous (though nowhere near my nervousness the very first day of clinicals in the CSL). I already knew who my patient would be and general info about his health history and treatment plans, but I still had no idea what to expect upon actually meeting and working with him. Tracey took Danielle (my partner for the day) and me to our patient’s room, and basically said, “Take his vitals, get him in his wheelchair, and make his bed.” Ready GO! There were a few seconds of Danielle and me staring at each other, somewhat dumbfounded, before we got to work as best as we could. The first day was a roller coaster ride of insecurity and confidence; one minute I would feel totally unprepared and spastic, but the next I was surprising myself by doing something right or without having to be told. Starting at 7 am definitely has its benefits because we get to help with A.M care (bathing, making beds, transporting into the wheelchair), feeding them breakfast, and observing them in rehab; it’s not the most exciting stuff by any means, but staying busy makes the time move quickly, and each thing we get to do is a deposit in the “experience bank,” if you will. The thing I noticed most quickly was that it was so much less awkward touching the patients, especially in private areas, than I expected; I was expecting to be really uncomfortable with things like bathing, but when you’re in a situation where you’re caring for a patient, and especially one who has been in a situation for a while that lets them be at least somewhat used to being changed, bathed, etc. by a stranger, the necessity of what you’re doing makes it less awkward. I don’t really know how to explain it, but I guess it’s a “do what you gotta” kind of mindset. The other healthcare providers, especially the nurse techs we were working most closely with, were so helpful and patient with us; I do realize that we slow things down and get in the way at times, but how else are we supposed to learn? They made a point to commend us on what we were doing well and to thank us for helping them out; it was just a really great experience overall, especially when I’ve heard stories of more experienced HCPs being rude and impatient with us “newbies.” The patients were also really helpful and patient with us; most of them have been there long enough that they know how things are done even better than we do, and I can’t even say how much I appreciate them and their families letting us learn with them. I stayed with my patient for a while until he didn’t need anything else, and then floated around to help my classmates or whoever needed it. In rehab, we just watched the physical therapists work with the patients, which was interesting to compare with my experiences in athletic PT and volunteering with a PT in the hospital; plus it was (finally) an opportunity to sit down. Our lunch break was spent working on our care webs for the week while hastily eating (get used to it, right?). I feel like what I need to work with the most is interpersonal interactions, especially with the patients; I could tell how awkward I was when talking to them, mostly because of being afraid to say the wrong thing. I don’t enjoy being awkward, though I’m almost used to it by now haha, but I know that will come with experience, so I’m not being too hard on myself. I was also proud of how well everyone in my group did, and once again, I’m glad to be working alongside them. My experience with one of my patients really showed me how much I’ve changed in the past few years: I had gotten her to the bathroom and waited outside to give her some privacy. The tech had gone to get something from her car, but I was under the impression that she was coming back, mostly because she didn’t tell me what to do beyond getting the patient to the bathroom and that we were bathing her after. When the lady finished, I was scrambling to figure what to do next and one of my classmates walked in; the patient then starts telling her how she’s been sitting there forever and complaining about me when I was standing right there; in reality, she had been sitting there for maybe two minutes after she had finished. I actually started laughing (not in front of the patient of course) because I knew I hadn’t done anything wrong, but I realized that a year or two ago, I probably would have taken it really personally and gotten upset. The last thing we did was observe an in-and-out catheter; the patient had prostate enlargement so he couldn’t urinate on his own and instead of a continuous catheter, he was just to be catheterized 2-3 times daily to empty his bladder. Our classmate, Christian, actually did the catheter and did it well, which was impressive on his part, especially being watched by all of us. It was another interesting experience with how things are done in simulation versus in “real life.” I also have a new appreciation for my physical independence after seeing just how helpless someone can actually become; we try to maintain independence as much as possible, but it has to be frustrating for the patients, and I’m trying to start sympathizing and thinking more about how I would feel if the roles were reversed. My patient was doing relatively well when I was with him, but knowing his history, it was really sad to realize, in talking with Tracey, just what all he’s dealing with and what kind of prognosis he probably has; it’s sad any time you hear about someone in poor health, but when you’ve met and worked with the person, it’s a new level of emotion. Overall, it was a great experience getting to know a patient as more than a diagnosis and to start gaining experience in the technical and interpersonal aspects.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Orientation
Today we had our orientation at the nursing home; even though it was just an overview and tour of the facility, it got me excited for the upcoming weeks there. We'll be working with rehab and short-term patients (as opposed to Alzheimer's or other long-term patients), so we'll be doing a lot of assisting them with ADLs (Activities of Daily Living) and their rehab. Even though it's not our area, Tracy still had us go through the Alzheimer's unit, and my personal experiences with my grandparents made something already really sad hit even more closely to home. One of the patients there even looked like my grandmother; it was a good lesson in learning how to use your emotions and experiences to your benefit and the benefit of the patients instead of just crying (which I almost did. Day one. Go me). It definitely wasn't all sad though; some of the patients we encountered in the hallways were legitimately excited to see us, which immediately made my day; I'm really excited to see how I can not only make someone feel physically better but also emotionally. We'll each be assigned a patient per week and, since there isn't the constant influx and outflow of patients like in a hospital, will probably have some of the same patients. I'm really excited to be assigned a patient and get to see the diagnosis and treatment process first-hand, as well as to get to know that person as more than a diagnosis. We're given access, even just as nursing students, into patients' confidential information and their physical privacy; it really demonstrates the trust that people give to nurses and that we really need to respect that trust. Once we get our patients at the end of this week, we have to start learning all about them from their medical information, and then next Monday we'll actually meet them and start getting to know them for who they are not on paper. I'm so excited about being a part of the health care team; we meet with the other health care professionals (HCPs) to discuss the patients and the process. Basically, my feelings of legitimacy are off the chart right now haha I think this experience will definitely be challenging at times, but I can't wait to start really being a part of the medical field and start learning who I really am as an almost-nurse.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Last Week in the CSL
As much as I've enjoyed learning the basic skills in the Clinical Simulation Lab, I also feel like it's time to move on to the clinical setting. I don't feel too much more prepared than I did a month ago, but I do realize that most of the skills, both technical and interpersonal, that we're going to develop will come from trial-and-error in a "real life" setting. This week we learned how to put in foley catheters and care for wounds. Catheterizing was surprisingly easy (well, on mannequin genitalia), but I just feel like between the patient's unease in addition to my own when I first do it (which may not even be this semester), it's going to be Awkward City. Each of us doing the catheter for both male and female genitalia took most of the morning, so we didn't get to wound care until after lunch. (P.S I love that already it's not a problem to discuss wound care and catheters and God knows what before, during, or after eating haha) Again, it was pretty simple, but I feel like it's going to be a different story when you see (and smell, honestly) a person's wound, particularly if it's a nasty one. The idea doesn't bother me though because I knew that's what I was getting myself into from the day I decided on a career in the medical field. I'm going to miss the comfort and community that we had being in the CSL, and I'm definitely going to miss walking around on campus in my scrubs because that makes me feel like the coolest thing ever haha but I also can't wait to move on to less comfortable but definitely more relevant things in the nursing home.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Clinicals Week Five
This week in clinicals was spent learning how to administer medications, which I’m actually really excited to do in a real, clinical setting; I think it will be really intimidating the first time I give a shot (especially in some of the sites on the body, which I’ll get to in a minute), but it was oddly fun. We started with oral medications and other forms like transdermal patches, which were interesting, but intramuscular and subcutaneous injections were where the fun started (because we finally got to use needles! Like real healthcare professionals! I felt so legit). It wasn’t all fun and games though; I’m seriously concerned about sufficiently getting air bubbles out of solutions before injecting them because if you don’t, that will straight up kill someone. Terrifying. Of course accidental needle sticks are a real possibility, and I actually read somewhere that, statistically speaking, it will happen to every nurse at some point in his/her career. Also terrifying. We practiced drawing up the dosages (more technical than you would think, but easy enough. Again, I felt so legitimate.) and giving injections on fake skin; supposedly “back in the day” nursing students practiced on each other, and I haven’t yet decided if that would be a good or bad thing. We practiced finding the injection sites on each other and on the dummies; everyone has gotten a deltoid injection (in the upper arm) with vaccines, but there are tons of other sites (the big muscle in the thigh, one near the hipbone, and one right where the back and butt meet). Even though hitting bone or a vein (you actually have to draw back on the syringe when you put it in the muscle to make sure you aren’t in a vein. I swear I’ve never noticed anyone doing that, and I watch when I get shots; they must just be that good at it!) wouldn’t be pleasant, what was the scariest, specifically about the location near the buttocks, is the possibility of hitting the nearby sciatic nerve (hit that and your patient is going to be in major pain. ::salutes and says “Major Pain:: sorry, How I Met Your Mother reference) or some major arteries (“Major Arteries.” Man, I’m on a roll!). All insecurities (and jokes) aside, I enjoyed giving the injections to the fake skin, and I hope I’m as good at it on a real person. Last year the first-semester clinicals students helped give flu shots on campus (I know because I recognized the guy who gave me mine as having been in my class the semester before haha), and I really hope we get the chance to do that this year; it would be intimidating, but I feel like after just a day of doing it, we would really have the hang of it. I’d rather learn get practice with it on young, healthy patients so I’m more comfortable doing it with sick, possibly frail elderly patients in the nursing home this semester.
While I ate lunch, I worked on some of my other assignments, did some studying, and refilled on coffee; I feel like that’s about my normal routine these days haha once we met back with our clinical group, we had our medical calculation test; now, I’m not a math person and never have been, but I did enjoy the objectivity of the math test after how subjective some of our other tests have been and will be. And I won’t complain about a relatively easy 100 either :) While each person individually went over their tests and evaluations for the week with our clinical instructor, the rest of us had a chance to talk and get to know each other better. I really do like my group; I love that we all get along so well and work together even though we all met only about a month ago. I hope that kind of camaraderie will be a theme throughout the rest of nursing school and in my career as a nurse.
While I ate lunch, I worked on some of my other assignments, did some studying, and refilled on coffee; I feel like that’s about my normal routine these days haha once we met back with our clinical group, we had our medical calculation test; now, I’m not a math person and never have been, but I did enjoy the objectivity of the math test after how subjective some of our other tests have been and will be. And I won’t complain about a relatively easy 100 either :) While each person individually went over their tests and evaluations for the week with our clinical instructor, the rest of us had a chance to talk and get to know each other better. I really do like my group; I love that we all get along so well and work together even though we all met only about a month ago. I hope that kind of camaraderie will be a theme throughout the rest of nursing school and in my career as a nurse.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Week Three
After not having our clinical last Monday because of Labor Day (mind you, I was still doing work and studying for classes that day anyway), it was nice to be back this week. Since the lecture that corresponds with our lab is on Tuesday and we had lab Monday, the first two weeks we did skills before having learned about them; now that we’re technically a week “behind,” we’ll discuss the skills before actually trying to do them in the lab, which is preferable. This week we learned about oxygenation (how to decide when to use and how to properly apply a nasal cannula, face mask, etc.), suctioning, and tracheotomy care. The skills were pretty easy (on the mannequins) and went pretty quickly, but I feel doing things like trach care will be a totally different ball game on a real patient. Once again, I thoroughly enjoyed the time in the lab and did well, building my confidence.
Speaking of…my confidence is like a constant roller coaster these days, I mean more than usual. Now that we’re all in Upper Division, the competition should pretty much be over. Yes, we’re competing for jobs against someone (and since I plan to leave South Carolina, I’m probably not competing with a single person in my class for a job), but for the most part, as long as we graduate, it won’t matter if our GPA was a tenth of a point higher or if we had one more extracurricular activity. I feel like now we should focus on actually learning the material (which grades are not necessarily a reflection of, by the way), bettering ourselves as nurses, and helping each other through instead of worrying about being better; if we all graduate the same, but someone is badly representing our university and the nursing profession, no one wins. Now, I’m a perfectionist, so usually I’m not totally satisfied with anything less than an A, and I got good grades in high school, so there’s already been some adjustment not making straight-A’s in college, but for the most part, I’m happy with my success in college so far. I realize I sacrificed some experiences and grades to study abroad, but in the long-run of life, that was much more important than even a few tenths of a GPA. And even though I’m never happy about a low grade, I’m usually happy when I get a grade that reflects the effort I put into whatever the assignment was; what always screws me up is when I compare myself with other people and start feeling self-conscious. In the end, I got a B+ on the exam; not an A, but considering what I put in and how I felt on the exam, I was happy with that grade. Comparing with others is such a Catch-22 because I felt simultaneously more confident when I did better than someone and less confident when I did worse, obviously; I've learned that you don't get to feel great doing better than others if you don't want the reverse feeling when you do worse than someone. My goal is to stop comparing myself with others and just be happy with myself and my accomplishments. No, a little friendly competition isn’t a bad thing, but when it gets to the point where people turn every little thing into a competition, it has gone too far.
Anyway, back to my clinical day. The Student Nurses’ Association on campus had its semi-annual Back-to-School Bash from 4:30-7, and since I was still up on campus when we got done with clinicals at 2:30 and was planning to go to it anyway, I decided to help them with set up. In the mean time, I got some work done in the computer lab in the nursing building, so already it had been a long, productive day. Helping set up was also a good way to meet some of the other students in SNA, particularly some in Upper Division with me; throughout the Bash, I also talked with some of my professors, which is always a good experience. I was still wearing my scrubs from clinicals, and I honestly feel like between that and being an Upper Division student, I’m really being taken much more seriously than I was even a month ago. It’s really nice to already get respect wearing the uniform, so I can’t wait until I feel more like I deserve it and am more confident in my abilities. After I had spent some time at the Bash and before it was over, I met with my pharmacology professor and a few of my classmates to go over our first exam; it was nice to finally meet the professor (my closest friends in UD with me already knew her from taking one of her classes last semester), to see what I got right/wrong (some educated guessing happened on that exam haha), and again to mingle with some of the other Upper Division students. Then I helped break down from the Bash, which meant I spent a whopping 11 hours at the College of Nursing in one day. Long day, but definitely a good, productive one; I met 3 professors, some of my nursing peers, and talked with some other professors/students I hadn’t seen in a while, in addition to feeling like a more appreciated part of nursing.
Speaking of…my confidence is like a constant roller coaster these days, I mean more than usual. Now that we’re all in Upper Division, the competition should pretty much be over. Yes, we’re competing for jobs against someone (and since I plan to leave South Carolina, I’m probably not competing with a single person in my class for a job), but for the most part, as long as we graduate, it won’t matter if our GPA was a tenth of a point higher or if we had one more extracurricular activity. I feel like now we should focus on actually learning the material (which grades are not necessarily a reflection of, by the way), bettering ourselves as nurses, and helping each other through instead of worrying about being better; if we all graduate the same, but someone is badly representing our university and the nursing profession, no one wins. Now, I’m a perfectionist, so usually I’m not totally satisfied with anything less than an A, and I got good grades in high school, so there’s already been some adjustment not making straight-A’s in college, but for the most part, I’m happy with my success in college so far. I realize I sacrificed some experiences and grades to study abroad, but in the long-run of life, that was much more important than even a few tenths of a GPA. And even though I’m never happy about a low grade, I’m usually happy when I get a grade that reflects the effort I put into whatever the assignment was; what always screws me up is when I compare myself with other people and start feeling self-conscious. In the end, I got a B+ on the exam; not an A, but considering what I put in and how I felt on the exam, I was happy with that grade. Comparing with others is such a Catch-22 because I felt simultaneously more confident when I did better than someone and less confident when I did worse, obviously; I've learned that you don't get to feel great doing better than others if you don't want the reverse feeling when you do worse than someone. My goal is to stop comparing myself with others and just be happy with myself and my accomplishments. No, a little friendly competition isn’t a bad thing, but when it gets to the point where people turn every little thing into a competition, it has gone too far.
Anyway, back to my clinical day. The Student Nurses’ Association on campus had its semi-annual Back-to-School Bash from 4:30-7, and since I was still up on campus when we got done with clinicals at 2:30 and was planning to go to it anyway, I decided to help them with set up. In the mean time, I got some work done in the computer lab in the nursing building, so already it had been a long, productive day. Helping set up was also a good way to meet some of the other students in SNA, particularly some in Upper Division with me; throughout the Bash, I also talked with some of my professors, which is always a good experience. I was still wearing my scrubs from clinicals, and I honestly feel like between that and being an Upper Division student, I’m really being taken much more seriously than I was even a month ago. It’s really nice to already get respect wearing the uniform, so I can’t wait until I feel more like I deserve it and am more confident in my abilities. After I had spent some time at the Bash and before it was over, I met with my pharmacology professor and a few of my classmates to go over our first exam; it was nice to finally meet the professor (my closest friends in UD with me already knew her from taking one of her classes last semester), to see what I got right/wrong (some educated guessing happened on that exam haha), and again to mingle with some of the other Upper Division students. Then I helped break down from the Bash, which meant I spent a whopping 11 hours at the College of Nursing in one day. Long day, but definitely a good, productive one; I met 3 professors, some of my nursing peers, and talked with some other professors/students I hadn’t seen in a while, in addition to feeling like a more appreciated part of nursing.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Clinicals - Day Two
I'll start by saying that I can't believe it's already been a week since my first clinical; time is absolutely flying by these days, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to be graduating and taking the already-dreaded NCLEX (more on that later too) before I know it.
Today's skills were vital signs (temperature, blood pressure, pulse, respirations) and nasogastric (NG) tubes; luckily I had learned how to do vitals in my high school health science class and somehow still remembered. We practiced on the dummies and on each other, and everyone caught on pretty quickly, which was especially impressive for everyone else, who hadn't ever learned it like I did. I'm proud of my little group :) Though I did notice something about myself: when we practiced on each other in high school, it was awkward because, as weird as it sounds, I had never touched another person in a medical, non-friend kind of way; I could find pulses on myself all day long, but it's another story on someone else. So this time around, whether because of being so gung-ho about nursing or just having grown up so incredibly much since high school, I was totally fine with it. I could go off on a whole tangent about this, but I really think the experiences I've had in the last couple/few years have really made me more confident and more capable to do things in nursing, even if said things weren't directly related; for example, my semester abroad put me into a whole new realization about what I really am capable of and how far I can push myself out of my comfort zone. It sounds really sappy, but without these experiences, I don't think I would ever have had a chance at being a good nurse. Speaking of confidence, my instructor told me at our evaluations from last week that I was probably the best one in the group and that really all I could do for improvement was to get experience. I promise I'm not trying to brag, I just want to point out that I've never been this confident about anything I've done before; I think I'm lucky that I "get" some of the aspects of nursing already, and I have no doubts that my classmates will all be great nurses by the end of 2 years, but it's so reassuring for me to find out that I'm both good at this and passionate about it. It's hard now to believe that I wanted to switch out of nursing second semester freshman year and even doubted my decision as recently as the night before my first clinical (dude, those skills videos are that unenjoyable); I'm sure I'll have doubts once I stop "honeymooning" and some of the less-than-ideal aspects are revealed, but for now, I'm in love with nursing.
Wow. So much for not getting off on a tangent. Let me quickly go off on another: I would be really interested to compare nursing school even 10-15 years ago with nursing school today, largely in terms of the technology. We have these dummies used for simulation that are so incredibly realistic; ya'll, they can breathe and blink and talk and pee and can be programmed to have different symptoms and reactions and - here are the best parts - ONE OF THEM GIVES BIRTH(!) AND THEY CAN DIE. Is that not the most amazing thing you've ever heard of?! I just feel so lucky to have things like this available to me, which I might not have if I had gone to NYU like I wanted to (destiny, my friends); it's no substitute for a human being, of course, but I think we'll be more prepared because of it. And I just think they're the coolest thing $20,000 can buy.
After lunch, we learned how to put in NG tubes (if you're not familiar: it's one method used to tube-feed patients who have functional gastrointestinal tracts but who can't swallow correctly); it was pretty straightforward, though it requires a lot of steps, but I think I'll be terrified the first time I have to do it on a patient. It's one of those things that are really unpleasant for them but at the same time necessary; it's tough to see someone suffer, literally at your hands, but when it's for their benefit overall, hopefully that will help me be strong enough to do it.
We don't have a clinical next week because Monday (our clinical day) is a day off for Labor Day; admittedly, I'm more sad about not having clinical than I am excited about having a day off from school. Geez, I'm a nerd ;)
Today's skills were vital signs (temperature, blood pressure, pulse, respirations) and nasogastric (NG) tubes; luckily I had learned how to do vitals in my high school health science class and somehow still remembered. We practiced on the dummies and on each other, and everyone caught on pretty quickly, which was especially impressive for everyone else, who hadn't ever learned it like I did. I'm proud of my little group :) Though I did notice something about myself: when we practiced on each other in high school, it was awkward because, as weird as it sounds, I had never touched another person in a medical, non-friend kind of way; I could find pulses on myself all day long, but it's another story on someone else. So this time around, whether because of being so gung-ho about nursing or just having grown up so incredibly much since high school, I was totally fine with it. I could go off on a whole tangent about this, but I really think the experiences I've had in the last couple/few years have really made me more confident and more capable to do things in nursing, even if said things weren't directly related; for example, my semester abroad put me into a whole new realization about what I really am capable of and how far I can push myself out of my comfort zone. It sounds really sappy, but without these experiences, I don't think I would ever have had a chance at being a good nurse. Speaking of confidence, my instructor told me at our evaluations from last week that I was probably the best one in the group and that really all I could do for improvement was to get experience. I promise I'm not trying to brag, I just want to point out that I've never been this confident about anything I've done before; I think I'm lucky that I "get" some of the aspects of nursing already, and I have no doubts that my classmates will all be great nurses by the end of 2 years, but it's so reassuring for me to find out that I'm both good at this and passionate about it. It's hard now to believe that I wanted to switch out of nursing second semester freshman year and even doubted my decision as recently as the night before my first clinical (dude, those skills videos are that unenjoyable); I'm sure I'll have doubts once I stop "honeymooning" and some of the less-than-ideal aspects are revealed, but for now, I'm in love with nursing.
Wow. So much for not getting off on a tangent. Let me quickly go off on another: I would be really interested to compare nursing school even 10-15 years ago with nursing school today, largely in terms of the technology. We have these dummies used for simulation that are so incredibly realistic; ya'll, they can breathe and blink and talk and pee and can be programmed to have different symptoms and reactions and - here are the best parts - ONE OF THEM GIVES BIRTH(!) AND THEY CAN DIE. Is that not the most amazing thing you've ever heard of?! I just feel so lucky to have things like this available to me, which I might not have if I had gone to NYU like I wanted to (destiny, my friends); it's no substitute for a human being, of course, but I think we'll be more prepared because of it. And I just think they're the coolest thing $20,000 can buy.
After lunch, we learned how to put in NG tubes (if you're not familiar: it's one method used to tube-feed patients who have functional gastrointestinal tracts but who can't swallow correctly); it was pretty straightforward, though it requires a lot of steps, but I think I'll be terrified the first time I have to do it on a patient. It's one of those things that are really unpleasant for them but at the same time necessary; it's tough to see someone suffer, literally at your hands, but when it's for their benefit overall, hopefully that will help me be strong enough to do it.
We don't have a clinical next week because Monday (our clinical day) is a day off for Labor Day; admittedly, I'm more sad about not having clinical than I am excited about having a day off from school. Geez, I'm a nerd ;)
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Fortune Cookie Says...
So I got this fortune in my fortune cookie the other day:
How perfect for nursing school is that?! These things are scarily accurate sometimes haha
Anyway, I have now been to all of my classes and have a better feel of this semester; the classes that I'm taking are NURS 311 (Intro to Health Assessment), NURS 312 (Foundations of Nursing Practice), NURS 313 (Nursing Care of the Older Adult), NURS 314 (Clinical Reasoning), and NURS 324 (Chemical Therapeutics).
NURS 311 is where we learn how to assess patients' different body systems in regards to diagnosing them. I don't know yet what kind of workload this class is going to have outside of class, since so far it has only been watching lectures online before coming to class; I don't think the in-class work will be too bad, or at least will be more enjoyable, since most of the class is spent practicing the assessments on each other.
NURS 312 is divided between our time in the CSL/rotations and time in lecture going over other skills; I'm pretty sure it's going to be the hardest, most time-consuming class this semester (which is appropriate because it's worth the most credit hours). I really like both my clinical instructor and the lecture professor, so I think it will be one of those situations where you learn not only the course material but life lessons and such.
NURS 313, we've been told, will be an easy A if you just do the assignments, and most of my geriatrics knowledge will be learned in my rotation at the nursing home; that being said, I do think the lecture will be interesting too, especially since the professor is pretty entertaining.
NURS 314 is literally teaching us how to think critically; I'm excited to learn how to "think like a nurse," though I think the class might be harder than one would think until that specific kind of thinking is learned. The class is hard to pay attention in (a 2 1/2-hour lecture Friday after lunch?), but I really like the professor.
Finally, NURS 324 is admittedly more interesting than expected, and even though I think it will require a lot of studying, it sounds manageable. And, once again, I have a professor whom I really like. Even though pharmacology is similar to some of the science classes that I wasn't a huge fan of, it's more interesting and more relevant. Plus it doesn't hurt having a roommate in pharmacy school ;)
Overall, like I've said before, I think the semester will be a lot of work, probably more than other semesters, but it's so much easier to work hard in classes that are directly relevant to the career you're passionate about. I've never liked as many of my professors as I do this semester; I've had some each semester who were more easily respectable, but I also had a few who were disappointing, to say the least. I think it says something about the College of Nursing that they make sure their professors, especially those in Upper Division, are not only knowledgeable about their subject, but are also good teachers (apparently an unheard of concept for the biology department) who develop good relationships with and set good examples for their students.
How perfect for nursing school is that?! These things are scarily accurate sometimes haha
Anyway, I have now been to all of my classes and have a better feel of this semester; the classes that I'm taking are NURS 311 (Intro to Health Assessment), NURS 312 (Foundations of Nursing Practice), NURS 313 (Nursing Care of the Older Adult), NURS 314 (Clinical Reasoning), and NURS 324 (Chemical Therapeutics).
NURS 311 is where we learn how to assess patients' different body systems in regards to diagnosing them. I don't know yet what kind of workload this class is going to have outside of class, since so far it has only been watching lectures online before coming to class; I don't think the in-class work will be too bad, or at least will be more enjoyable, since most of the class is spent practicing the assessments on each other.
NURS 312 is divided between our time in the CSL/rotations and time in lecture going over other skills; I'm pretty sure it's going to be the hardest, most time-consuming class this semester (which is appropriate because it's worth the most credit hours). I really like both my clinical instructor and the lecture professor, so I think it will be one of those situations where you learn not only the course material but life lessons and such.
NURS 313, we've been told, will be an easy A if you just do the assignments, and most of my geriatrics knowledge will be learned in my rotation at the nursing home; that being said, I do think the lecture will be interesting too, especially since the professor is pretty entertaining.
NURS 314 is literally teaching us how to think critically; I'm excited to learn how to "think like a nurse," though I think the class might be harder than one would think until that specific kind of thinking is learned. The class is hard to pay attention in (a 2 1/2-hour lecture Friday after lunch?), but I really like the professor.
Finally, NURS 324 is admittedly more interesting than expected, and even though I think it will require a lot of studying, it sounds manageable. And, once again, I have a professor whom I really like. Even though pharmacology is similar to some of the science classes that I wasn't a huge fan of, it's more interesting and more relevant. Plus it doesn't hurt having a roommate in pharmacy school ;)
Overall, like I've said before, I think the semester will be a lot of work, probably more than other semesters, but it's so much easier to work hard in classes that are directly relevant to the career you're passionate about. I've never liked as many of my professors as I do this semester; I've had some each semester who were more easily respectable, but I also had a few who were disappointing, to say the least. I think it says something about the College of Nursing that they make sure their professors, especially those in Upper Division, are not only knowledgeable about their subject, but are also good teachers (apparently an unheard of concept for the biology department) who develop good relationships with and set good examples for their students.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Clinicals - Day One
Today was my first day of clinicals (note: today's class was in the College of Nursing's Clinical Simulation Lab; our in-hospital rotations don't start for 4 more weeks while we learn basic skills), and it basically confirmed that nursing is right for me. I was so nervous on the way to class (puking on my clean scrubs would not have been good haha), but once we got into our groups and started working on skills, all of my apprehension was gone. I had been worried about being unprepared, but I was actually one of the most prepared, having watched the skills videos and brought all necessary supplies, which was definitely a confidence-booster.
First of all, it was so exciting to be in scrubs; I know that sounds lame, but for someone who has wanted to have her very own scrubs for like 6 years now, it was the first time I felt "real" in regards to medicine. I liked my clinical instructor and my group right away; we all get along really well and have a good time while still learning the skills we need. Today we were only learning how to properly make beds and bathe patients, which isn’t the most exciting, but it sounds like what we’re going to be doing most, since our rotation is at a nursing home (more on that later). It wasn’t as boring as it seemed like it would be in watching the preparation DVDs, and I actually got the hang of everything pretty quickly. Considering how unsure of my abilities I was this morning, I think I can get away with not sounding too conceited by saying that I’m proud of how well I did, with the skills and with asking/answering questions. We also practicing transferring patients from the bed to the stretcher, bed to chair, etc., and I got to say "On my count: 1, 2, 3" like they do on TV ;) The clinical was from 8-12 and 1-3:30, and the time actually went really quickly; I’m so excited to be doing hands-on things that are directly relevant to what I’ll be doing in nursing (did I mention the scrubs?!). Of course it's naive to judge an entire semester, much less career, based on one day of clinicals, and I'm sure there will be times I'm not as enthusiastic about it, but I've trusted my instincts so far, and it would take a lot to deter me from nursing at this point. That being said, I’m already overwhelmed by the amount of out-of-class time required for these classes, but it’s nice knowing how much it paid off today, and once I get into a routine, maybe I’ll get less stressed. Maybe ;)
First of all, it was so exciting to be in scrubs; I know that sounds lame, but for someone who has wanted to have her very own scrubs for like 6 years now, it was the first time I felt "real" in regards to medicine. I liked my clinical instructor and my group right away; we all get along really well and have a good time while still learning the skills we need. Today we were only learning how to properly make beds and bathe patients, which isn’t the most exciting, but it sounds like what we’re going to be doing most, since our rotation is at a nursing home (more on that later). It wasn’t as boring as it seemed like it would be in watching the preparation DVDs, and I actually got the hang of everything pretty quickly. Considering how unsure of my abilities I was this morning, I think I can get away with not sounding too conceited by saying that I’m proud of how well I did, with the skills and with asking/answering questions. We also practicing transferring patients from the bed to the stretcher, bed to chair, etc., and I got to say "On my count: 1, 2, 3" like they do on TV ;) The clinical was from 8-12 and 1-3:30, and the time actually went really quickly; I’m so excited to be doing hands-on things that are directly relevant to what I’ll be doing in nursing (did I mention the scrubs?!). Of course it's naive to judge an entire semester, much less career, based on one day of clinicals, and I'm sure there will be times I'm not as enthusiastic about it, but I've trusted my instincts so far, and it would take a lot to deter me from nursing at this point. That being said, I’m already overwhelmed by the amount of out-of-class time required for these classes, but it’s nice knowing how much it paid off today, and once I get into a routine, maybe I’ll get less stressed. Maybe ;)
Lower Division
I just want to give a brief idea of what my first 2 years in nursing was like. At my university, the nursing program is divided into Lower Division and Upper Division (from here on to be abbreviated as "LD" and "UD," respectively); LD consists of core courses and basic, non-clinical nursing courses, while UD consists of exclusively nursing classes, some clinical and others higher-level nursing courses. Ideally, one would spend 2 years in LD, and 2 in UD, and though I did that for the most part, I did stray from the norm a little by spending one semester abroad (see that blog at grenobletwentyten.blogspot.com). Required LD classes consist of ENGL 101 and 102 (or the AP equivalent), US History (or AP), foreign language (unless exempted by the placement exam), STAT 110 and either STAT 201 or college calculus, one fine art (I took music appreciation), PSYC 101 and 420 (developmental psych), general/organic chemistry, anatomy and physiology, microbiology, pathology, history of nursing, communications in nursing, public health nursing, transcultural nursing, clinical nutrition, and a certain number of elective credits. Despite some less-than-ideal professors (though others were great) and some long nights studying for subjects I wasn’t exactly passionate about (that means you, microbiology), I was still happy with my decision about nursing at the end of my 2 years. Movement into UD isn’t a given (in fact, a lot of people get turned away since it’s so competitive and only 200 students can be accepted due to faculty restrictions) and is based solely on GPA. It gets more and more competitive each year as the students who didn’t get accepted the year before reapply with higher GPAs in addition to the 300-400 other nursing students who have been working hard because they were warned from the get-go that they would need a high GPA; the cutoff this year was a 3.4. I enjoyed most of my classes in LD, but I'm so glad to be taking classes that are obviously and directly relevant to what I'll be doing as a nurse. Plus, I get to wear scrubs ;)
Why Nursing?
Oh man, how many times I have pondered this question, whether on my own or because of essay prompts…honestly, you’ve heard all of the reasons I’m going to give (want to help people/save lives, a job that provides flexibility of working in a variety of medical areas as well as just about anywhere in the world, a good salary and plenty of room for moving up in your career, and hey, the job security in this economy doesn’t hurt either), and even though all of those reasons are legitimate and applicable to me, it was more than finding a job that meets certain criteria; it was about how the career made me feel. I don’t remember exactly who or what first suggested the medical field to me (admittedly, I think it was the TV show ER), but once I got even the slightest taste of it (volunteering at a hospital and taking an introductory health sciences course at my high school), I knew it was for me just because it "felt" right; I’ve never been as excited to learn about or as interested in something as I was (and still am) in any medical information I could get my hands on. Originally, however, I was convinced that I wanted to go to medical school and be a physician, without really even considering nursing. I got the idea after I did an internship program for high school upperclassmen and spent 2 weeks observing all of the members of the medical team in the Special Care Nursery; I realized that the hands-on, interactive care that the nurses did was more what I wanted to do. Then I was forced to weigh other options; yes, the title and respect that comes with that MD is nice, but wouldn’t I rather be equally as respected as a nurse because I earned it? And even though nurses work long hours too, having a family was an important part of my future, and I didn’t want to spend that much time away from them (*note: I’m not saying that physicians can’t be good mothers; of course they can, I just felt that I personally would feel guilty spending that much time away from my family). Physicians’ salaries are certainly nice, but I didn’t feel there was much point if I couldn’t use it to travel, which is something really important to me. 4 years later, and I'm more and more convinced that I made the right choice; even though there have been times where I was presented with more options than I realized I had (which I feel like is part of college) and wondered what else I could be doing, I always come back to nursing and don't see any career that would be better for me. I don't know exactly where nursing will take me, but I know I'll end up where I'm supposed to, and I'm looking forward to the journey.
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