Archive for January, 2009
Pray for Tuesday…remeberence
Earthquake…
How do you find out that there is an earthquake happening in my house?
A 70lb puppy jumps the fence and climbs into bed with you.
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Pray for Tuesday
Please pray for sweet Tuesday. They will be in my prayers tonight, and every night. Please stop by and send them some much needed love and support. And please pass this on. Pray for Tuesday.
Just my aura
A person wearing attends who hasnt had a BM in 7 days will definitly have one once I am assigned to their pericare.
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Week 4 has begun/Question
Week three was a whirlwind of clinicals, learning disease processes (Diabetes, HTN, ARF, COPD, CHF) and learning a whole bunch about the administration of rectal medications.
I did my first glucometer check on a live patient, and even got to administer some glucose. I also did a crap load of pericare (hehe, im hilarious!). Let me just say that changing attends on overweight people is not fun nor easy and I commend the CNA’s who do it regularly.
Week four is supposed to bring another round of clinicals, and who knows what experiences that will bring! I am also expanding on CHF and other forms of heart failure in lecture. In lab we are learning wound care, wet to dry bandages and sterile procedure.
As for the exciting news (and thank you to all who commented) we have not set a date yet. We are not sure what the plans are. And my beautiful antique ring will be sized and polished and ready this weekend. Im so excited!!
So tell me this…what was your wedding like?
Going to the chapel and…..
We’re gonna get married!!25 things
I was going to link the person who I “stole” this from, but since like 10 of my fellow bloggers also completed it I guess I will just start writing.
Rules: Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it’s because I want to know more about you.
Im not tagging anyone, if you read it….play along! And link me so I can go read yours!
1. I am incredibly disapointed in my nursing program. I feel that I have been let down. I am still really grateful to have gotten in. I know taht many people would love to be in my position, but the program is so disorganized that it leaves me discouraged.
2. I’ve wanted to be a nurse since I graduated high school. I went to a tech school and became a Medical Assistant and I fell in love with the idea of being a care provider.
3. I was recently given a beautiful family heirloom. But I will post about that in the near future.
4. I get addicted to foods. I go on little binges where something will sound good and then that is all I will eat for weeks. Right now it is sushi. All I think about it sushi.
5. I never thought I would fall in love with a Sailor. Having been a navy brat I was sure that I would never date/fall in love/marry a military member. Now I am so thankful. Hobby is wonderful, and I love his job. I love his attitude, and his pride/patriotism at serving our country.
6. I used to love cats. Now I consider them to be kinda vile. The whole litterbox thing just grosses me out. I love to get some kitty love, but I dont know if I will ever have another cat in my life. Dogs are much more intelligent, in my opinion.
7. I am currently stuck in the middle of a political snafu at work. It is much to involoved to write about in detail, but lets just say that I will be happy when there is a conclusion.
8. I am a very nauseas person. I have a super sensitive gag reflex and can vomit just by thinking about it.
9. I broke my neck when I was 12 years old. I have a cracked vertebrae. I spent almost an entire year blind. I still get migraines from it.
10. I love to laugh, something that was seriously missing from my life until about 7 months ago. Now I laugh all the time. Most things are funny…just look at my previous posts!
11. I love my family. I am incredibly blessed to have such a supportive and loving family. My Dad (a frequent reader) is such a great source of advice, support and love. My Mom is so good as being there when I need her, listening to my many ramblings, and even telling me Im nuts. My sis…is a constant source of humor. SHe never fails to make light of the situation.
12. I have always dreamed of having a large family. I watch shows like the Duggars and think how great it would be to have a dozen or so kids. Realisticly….I think 4 is a nice number.
13. I hate red sauce. Im not a spaghetti or pizza girl.
14. I NEVER drink beer. It tastes nasty.
15. I want to live over seas again. I loved traveling with my parents. I hope to be able to do the same for my children.
16. I tell my Dogs all my secrets. Thank god they cant talk or I would be screwed.
17. In the past I have had to choose between material possessions and things that I love. I left with my dogs and the clothes on my back. And I have never regretted it. It made me realize how much I could truly let go of. How many things that could be taken from me, and I could still be happy.
18. I never thought I would be divorced. I used to have this opinion of divorced people, I thought that because of their marital status it meant that they were unable to maintain a commitment. And although I still believe that may be true in some cases, I think that the majority of divorcee’s are people who got married and then grew apart, or stopped putting their spouses first.
19. I have to pee every single time I wake up. And before I can crawl into bed, even if I just went. Makes for a very annoying habit.
20. I am addicted to my phone. I check my messages all day and night. I hate being disconnected from the world
21. Im learning Spanish. Slowly, very very slowly.
22. I have become more opinionated about movies as I have gotten older. Its silly but I am very judgemental about them.
23. Coffee makes me happy. There is nothing like the smell of fresh coffee to bring a smile to my face.
24. I prefer wild flowers over roses. Roses are for special occasions, wild flowers are for every day!
25. Im a very happy person. Im happy. I love my life and even the little drama thats in it. Im pretty close to where I thought I would be. Im almost 1/3 of the way done with Nursing school.
Ok, so there you have it. My 25…if you made it through this blog you deserve a trophy. I am trying to sort some crap with my daily life out and study for a big test on Oxygen transport and NG tubes so my posting will be quite boring over the next few days. My apologies!
John vs. the John
After 20 minutes looking for a residents family member named “John” after being asked by the resident to take her to “John”, I came to find that she really meant that she wanted to be taken to “the John” meaning the toilet.
Clarification is important!
Fyi long term care advice
Elderly people have no control of their gases and they will toot on you and not even notice!
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The gender crisis
Fellow RN student: “hey Tiff, I saw your pt in rm 77… That man…”
Me: “its a woman”
Fellow RN : “oh, that explains it then.”
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TINTINTS
“What color was your BM today?”
Patient looks at me funny….
“BM?” He asks
Me…. “Uh what color was your poo today?”
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Why lying to demetia patients can be ethical
Three weeks into the quarter and Ive come to really believe that dementia is an awful disease, more horrible than any disease I have ever heard of. Its even worse when the patient wants for a family member or significant other that has passed away. As RN students we have ethics shoved down our throats, including telling the truth at all costs. “A truthful Nurse is one who succeeds”. I believe in telling the truth, really I do. But I do not think that telling a patient with dementia the brutal truth is helping us to “do no harm”. Here is the scene I witnessed last week.
Picture a pleasant elderly patient who asks you every hour or so about their spouse. Here is how the seasoned nurse handles it:
RN:”Hi Mrs.______, how are you this morning?”
Mrs.____: “Where is my husband? Where is _________?”
RN: “Im not sure ma’am, but let me look at that seeping decubitus ulcer on your hiney”
Mrs.____: “Im going to lunch with my husband today. He said he would come.”
RN: “Oh thats nice, now let me finish your wound check.”
Mrs.____: “When will he be here?:
RN: “I dont know. But lets get you dressed.”
An hour later, enter freshly born Nursing student:
RN student: “Hi Mrs.______, Im ______from the nursing school. Im going to perform a wound check on you today.”
Mrs._____: “Where is my husband?”
RN student: “Is he supposed to be here? Let me go look for him”
Rn student goes to chart and sees that the spouse is deceased
RN student: “Im sorry Mrs._____, but your husband passed away many years ago. He wont be coming here.”
Mrs._____: Crying inconsolably until she finally falls asleep without wound check.
The nursing student was so torn up. I heard her crying in the bathroom, and felt so bad that she got stuck in that ethical dilema.
But what would you have done?
QTR 2 Week 3 and NG tubes
Too busy to blog…pictures
The snow was up to my knees!
Im so happy! Santa brought me Starbucks Gift Cards!
My gorgeous Sis!
My amazing parents! 26 years and going strong!
Sisters!
My sexy man!
Something to make y’all smile
Harley Bug, snuggled down for nap time
Dylan Pickles checking everything out.
Great suggestions and a whine
Thank you for the suggestions for responses to the “relationship with God” question. I wish I would have thought more on my toes. I was so surprised to have a 90 year old ask me such an abrupt question I could barely find any response, let alone something witty!
What a week it has been. Along with the 24 prescription medications that I need to look up, I also have 11 OTC meds that I need to look up. My patient has 17 current diagnoses that I have to look up and find the S&S, lab tests, and treatments for. I also have to find the rationale for all of her abnormal labs.
Im drowning. How is everyone else?
You know your clinical experience isnt going well when….
You introduce yourself to the patient you are assigned to:
“Hi my name is Tiffany, Im from the Nursing school. I will be your Nurse today.”
and the patient replies with:
“tell me about your personal experience with God.”
Holy crap…I didnt know how to respond!
TINTINTS Jan edition
“I wad hiding it”- from the man with the industrial flashlight shoved up his rectum.
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Bed alarm FYI
They are not to keep the bed from being stolen. And if you think that they are you should NOT bring it up during post clinical.
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On my way to clinicals
I hate this uniform. Who makes rn students wear white?
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Looking back on the memories of…..
The past year has had some overwhelming tests, and even more overwhelming trials. To say that my life has come full circle would be a significant understatement. I look back at where I was last year right at this very moment and I can barely see a trace of the person I am today. That person was incredibly bitter, very unhappy, overwhelmed and spent a lot of energy trying to please everyone. Although there is still a shadow of that person hanging around, a small trace that comes about whenever things get particularly rough, she is mostly gone. Outgrown. Replaced by a happier, healthier, more natural me. A me that I really didnt remember existed.
This last years exhausting changes have made me hope that every year does not bring as many life altering experiences. I cant help but ask myself what will this year bring? Will I sit back next year and sigh in awe over how different my life is? What big changes sit just around that next corner?
I know that I am not the only one who changed this last year, I know that my loved ones, my formerly loved ones, and those around me have also succeeded in moving forward with their lives. It is hard to see people who were such an enormous part of your existance move forward, it is painful, but it is also so pleasant. I guess we all outgrow our previous lives at some point.
I recently experienced my first pang of growing pains since my separation and divorce. I found that my ex has moved forward and will be making some big life changes. Although his bringing this to my attention was meant to cause me harm, it did so much more than that. It brought me peace. There was a time, somewhere between him asking me for a divorce and the actual signing of the papers, when I thought that we would still be stuck to each other in some way or another for eternity. Then I met Hobby and I knew that I wanted to be free of my ex, and what ever hold he had on me forever. The new knowledge has brought me such joy that I can almost not put it into words… Im free. We’re free. Its really done.
Now I feel that I can continue to move into my new found life with a postive energy, a renewed spirit. I feel light, and almost giddy. This is going to be a good year. I can feel it in my soul.
I want to know how have you changed this year?
2008 questions, A meme
Stolen/borrowed from KLS
2008: A Year In Bulletpoints
Q: What did you do in 2008 that you had never done before?
A: So many things, started RN school, got divorced, fell for a sailor.
Q: Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions?
A: Last year I vowed to be happy this year. It happened.
Q: What would you like to have in ’09 that you didn’t have in ’08?
A: Finished with my first year of RN school.
Q: What dates from ’08 will remain etched upon your memory?
A: My divorcaversary
Q: Did you suffer from any injury?
A: Nothing substantial
Q: Where did most of your money go?
A: School and the Baby Red
Q: What did you get really excited about?
A: Getting accepted to my RN program
Q: What song will always remind you of 2008?
A: I kissed a girl…not for the obvious reasons, but I discovered this song and found that I can dance with Giada to it. She gets really excited when it plays, almost like she knows it needs to be danced to!
Q: Favorite TV shows of 2008?
A: Big Love
Q: What was your greatest musical discovery?
A: being sang a Salvadorian Lullaby
Q: Best book you read this year?
A: The Twilight series
Q: Favorite film of the year?
A: Hmmm…..Batman?
Q: Describe your fashion concept of ’08:
A: crocs.
Q: What celebrities did you fancy the most?
A: I was dedicated to Brangelina
Q: Who do you miss?
A: My bestest bud. School keeps us apart
Q: Biggest achievement?
A: Nursing school. Surviving and thriving!
Q: Did you fall in love in 2008?
A: I did. A different type of love. New and uncharted territory.
Q: What’s one thing that would have made your year more satisfying?
A: I wish that I could have started last year sooner. My life is going so great now I wish I could have started 2008 like I started 2009.
Pediculosis, the diagnosis that leaves everyone itching
QTR 2 WEEK 2 starts
Today marks the beginning of the second week of the second quarter of my nursing school career. Last week we spent a majority of the time getting acquainted with the processes required and the procedures for the upcoming clinicals. In my Clinical prep class we talked about oxygen therapy, and pulmonary secretions. In my other classes we talked about such a wide range of things that I can barely wrap my brain around them. My nursing therapeutics class lectured about the alternatives to pharmacologic treatments for pain and depression. My group got assigned a presentation on Music therapy, which was not nearly as interesting as I thought it would be.
More on Pulmonary secretions….gross and also kinda interesting. So here I am walking into my clinical class with this horrible nasty productive cough and cold, and we are talking about pulmonary secretions. It definitely made me take a closer look at what my coughing was producing.
I guess I just cant believe how much has happened over the last few weeks. And now the first week is over and clinicals start this week. I will really be working on patients….peri care here I come!
