Posts tagged ‘Nursing School’
Nursing school stuff
So, Im reregistered for mentorship. I will be back next spring to finish my school journey.
I have a lot of mixed emotions about coming back to my school. Im excited to finally finish and take the NCLEX. Im nervous about joining a new group of students. Im terrified about figuring out the grueling mentorship schedule with a baby. Im just all over the place.
Nolan was able to meet almost all of my instructors. He was oogled over by all the students and he acted like his usual adorable self.
The show will go on. But until then there is Adventures in Japan!!
The last day….
Today marks my last day of the first half of mentorship. Now is time for the second half and I will be going to….THE ED!!
Im so excited!! I was unsure of where I wanted to go and now that I know I am going to the ED, I am thrilled! So exciting!
But back to today….Im filled with emotion. I am happy, sad, excited and terrified. But mostly I am just in awe of the fact that I made it through and that I am absolutely amazed with my mentor!
13 hours…thats all that is left of this part. 13 hours…..
Some things Ive learned in clinicals
There are many things that Ive learned in clinicals for my mentorship this term, but so far these are the ones that seem to stick out the most.
- No matter how old or how sick you are, your family is never ready to watch you die
- 60 year old men will still cry when their mothers are hurting
- Home ventilator care is tedious
- Multiple Sclerosis is a horrible awful slow miserable way to go
- A spouse who doubles as a care taker is Gods gift to the patient and the nurse
- A patient can go from fine to coding in a matter of a blink
- 150bpm does not always follow the text book and sometimes the patients are asymptomatic
- Sometimes output of 15ml/hr is an accomplishment
- Hydralazine is an amazing medication
- Some people NEED pain medications and wont take them
- People have the right to refuse care, even if you disagree
- When the day is done, its ok to come home and pray for your patients
- People die. No matter how hard you try to prevent it.
Ive done 40 hours of clinicals in 3 days. It was a busy, amazing, overwhelming, incredible, and terrifying 3 days. I learned more in 40 hours than I have in 20 months of nursing school.
Im having a hard time leaving the patients at home. I see some of them in my dreams, I pray for them at Mass. I worry for them. I search the newspaper for their faces in the obituary section. I cry when I find them.
I love it and yet it is exhausting.
Surviving shift one
Im not young anymore. Thats for sure. I can feel it in my back, my hips, my legs, and I feel it in my feet. 12 hours actually turned in to more than 13. I did manage to take two short breaks and I drank a full 40 oz of fluids. I peed more times than I could count, thats something that I dont get a choice about the baby makes it so.
Being pregnant doesnt actually make me slower, but it makes me more precise. I feel more compassionate to my patients and their different situations. I thought about the strangest thing today, each one of my patients were a little baby once. Totally random, but it made me feel closer and want to make them better even more than I could have imagined.
I was told years ago that I would never be a great nurse unless I had children. I can understand that now. There are alot of good nurses out there, but I think parents develop an understanding for their patients. At least that has been my experience.
The biggest “oops” moment of the day….I tagged my EMR charting as “Physical Ass”. Everyone laughed at that. Oops!
I survived shift number one. And now time to get the log finished, and rest up for tomorrow!
Mentorship
Tomorrow starts my mentorship and the newest countdown until this portion of my schooling is completed. There are only 67 days until graduation, and around 75 until I head out to NewHome.
In preparation for Mentorship I have been reading about CHF, COPD, and pneumonia. I figured since Im gonna be on a respiratory floor that those would be the biggest things I would encounter. I got ahold of the hospitals policy on weaning from oxygen and the procedure for RT consults. Im reviewing my meds, and was reading my journal entries from when I was on this floor last time. Its a tele unit so I have been refreshing how to analyze tele strips. I need a ton of help on those! Hopefully by the end of the 80hrs I will be effective at accurately analyzing them!
Where did you do your mentorship/internship/externship?
Wait…you mean Im in charge?
Mentorship starts in a matter of days. I called and left messages for
My mentoring Nurse but it is difficult to get in touch on the weekend. But still I am pretty sure my shifts will start next week.
It hit me hard the other day, in a few short weeks I will be the nurse. I will be in charge of my patient load. I will be the one who has to trust my gut to make decisions. I will have to recall the information that I learned.
Crap! Thats alot of stress. After two years of “playing” nurse during clinicals its a little scary to think about moving into the real world.
School isnt that hard once it is the only thing you have to do. The first year I worked nearly full time and went to school, it almost killed me. I still maintained good grades, kept on the deans list and even kept my attendance up. But this year my hubby and I decided I should focus on school, so I quit and have only had to work on my Nursing stuff. Goodness it is so much easier!
I can only imagine what it is gonna be like to join the work force again. This time as an RN and mother.
Its really hard to remember that soon Im gonna be in charge. Didnt Nursing school just start?
The results
After the anticipation nearly caused me to stroke out, I found that I didnt get what I wanted. On the other hand I didnt get the shaft either. I did wind up in Med/Surg, in the Respiratory step down unit. Its a tele unit, so not such a bad thing.
I think that in general the assignments were handed out fairly. It didnt seem like the “favorites” all got their first choices, in fact those one seemed to get the most disapointment. And there were people who got the creme de la creme who I dont think deserved it. But I guess the choices were made based on more than what I can see from observation.
At first I got the assignment and thought “it could be worse”. Im relatively happy with where I will be, but I wont lie and say that Im not incredibly disapointed. I busted my buns in L&D, my grades reflect it. My evals from the instructors reflect it. But alas, I didnt get it. It took about two hours and now Im crushed. I feel a little let down that I was so clear about my preference and didnt get anywhere near what I wanted.
Im taking tonight to have my pity party. Tomorrow I will wrap my brain around trying to focus on the assignment and the tasks ahead.
The anticipation is killing me
Tomorrow I find out about my mentorship location(s). It could be a large multitude of combinations. Basically we get 10 weeks of mentorship split into two five week terms. We were asked to pick our top three locations, and I picked L&D, ED, and Pediatrics. I would even be happy with ortho though. I love ortho!
The areas for them to sort us all include these: L&D, ED, ICU, PEDS, Many Med/surg floors, and Long term care.
There are about 62 students in our class that have to be divided into those locations. We are supposed to have two separate rotations, so we each need two locations. Understandably this is a huge task. I know that there are many factors that go into sorting the student nurses into the locations. They take into account our request, our ability, available mentors, and students per facility. This means that basically, not everyone is going to get what they requested.
Because I have been so verbal about my general dissapointment with the program, and have been very outspoken with the short comings of this school, I have a feeling that I will not get any of the locations that I requested. Its just a gut feeling. I dont mean to say that they would flat out be vendictive and punish me, but….we will see tomorrow. Perhaps I will have to eat my words then. Perhaps.
Until then, all I can do is pray. I want to be an L&D nurse so badly. I love the autonomy and real difference a good nurse can make in L&D. I know that this is my calling in life. I can feel it. And I know how disapointed I will be if I wind up getting the shaft and spending my 10 weeks of mentorship in Long Term Care and some sort of post of recovery rather than where my passion can further develop.
Just a few more hours and I will find out. My Nursing career is just starting….I cant believe that this part of my schooling is almost over. It seems like just yesterday I started this blog. And soon it will be time to graduate from it. Time flies.
Grades and such
So…grades posted and I rocked another quarter! Im super stoked at the results and really couldnt have asked for more!
I cant believe that the only things standing between me and my RN are 10 weeks of mentorship and the NCLEX.
I think back to 6 years ago when I first started the journey to nursing and I just am in awe that Ive come this far. It really seems like just yesterday I was taking the COMPASS test and enrolling in Calculus and English Comp.
In about 80 days I will be getting my pin and can be officially called a Nurse. My children will be born to a Nurse mama, my husband married to a Nurse. Its crazy.
They say “once a nurse, always a Nurse”. Im making the first level of my life plan complete. Now just to finish my BSN and decide if I want my Masters or PHD. The options are unlimited.
I think seeing my the grades from my last ever test in Nursing school has made it really sink in….Im gonna graduate!
Only the NCLEX is left
Wednesday I took the last ever exams for my Nursing Career. They were the hardest tests I have ever taken in my life. I walked in feeling prepared, and confident. I got the exam in my hands and became tachycardic and diaphoretic (heart racing and sweaty to my non-nursing folks). Suddenly all the med/surg material was written in German. All the professional role development exam was written in Chinese. I was lost. I took twice my normal amount of time to finish the exam, and still feel like I dont know what I answered or if it was correct.
I will find out the test results early next week. And I am sweating it. I really wish that there was a little more instant gratification in testing. More immediate results. But alas that is not the way it will be. I have to wait.
So now, assuming that everything went well in the exams, I have completed the last ever exams in my nursing school days. Only the NCLEX is left.
I will be spending the rest of the weekend praying that I am blessed with passing scores.
Daylight savings time is a waste of an hour
This year I really didnt have any reason to complain. Really. I didnt have to work, or have school to go to the very next day, so it worked out in my benefit. However, I despise having to go around and change all the clocks. Its rather annoying.
Thankfully the clock in my bedroom will be correct again, since I didnt change it from last years DST. Its kinda nice not to have to adjust the time in my head. (And before everyone gets their panties in a bunch, its a digital clock that I just cant figure out how to set!)
Meanwhile, someone apparently told the dogs that the clocks needed to be changed because they were on track with the new DST dinner time. Waiting by the door and staring at us longingly for their chow. Silly puppies! I havent mentioned the dogs in awhile, I guess baby fever made the four legged ones seem less interesting to write about.
Harley is doing great, still a double wide and we are seriously trying to keep her on her diet and trim her down. She is still the sweetest dog I have ever met in my entire life. And really naughty. The other day I went to go and say hi to them, and couldnt find her. She was INSIDE the dog bed. She had clawed out the stuffing and crawled inside the shell of the bed. Silly girl.
Giada is finally starting to slow down. The little energizer bunny is begining to show her adult side. She is much more patient and will actually just lay down and snuggle with you. She loves to play and will rough house like a crazy girl, but when its done and over she just wants to throw her head into your lap and cuddle. She also does the funniest thing, if you are sitting on her level she will start backing up to you and will plop her hiney into you lap. Yes sir, my 80lbs Dobie thinks she is a lap dog! What a spaz!
The upcoming weeks bring shots and vet visits for them both as we get them prepared to head to NewHome. What a trip that will be!
I suddenly realize that its an hour later than I thought and my computer clock is wrong, so now I gotta run!
What type of animals do you have? Do they have any funny quirks?
Goodbye concept mapping
Today is my last clinical day of 5th term. I have finished my concept maps and turned them all in. The only things left in this quarter are finishing a research paper and doing a couple of finals. Im totally excited!
The end is in sight. The end is in sight.
Real posts will resume shortly.
Ch…ch..ch…changes
There are less than 100 days left until graduation and fewer than 120 until we move far far away. I am getting excited but…totally starting to feel the weight of all the things that need to be accomplished before we move.
On top of all of that I am starting to really notice changes in my body. The little bump, the sore hips, the increasing bust line, and the persistant nausea.
Not to mention the fact that I am having an affair with sleep. All I want to do is sleep. I lurve sleep!
According to my OB, now that I am into week 12 my miscarriage risk drops to less than 5%. Even though its not the real end of the first trimester (that happens at 13 weeks) my doctor considers 12 weeks to be the end of the first trimester and the start of the second.
Grow baby grow!
Question and answer time-baby and nursing school related
In the last few weeks I have been sent a multitude of emails from people asking me questions about everything from my marriage, to pregnancy, and even nursing school. So I thought that if there are some people who are interested then others might be too. So I figured I would blog some of the questions and answers.
1) Is school harder now that you are pregnant?: Abso-freaking-lutely. It is way harder now. Not the work itself but because of the fatigue I just dont have the extra stamina that I had before.
2) Why are you having and NT scan?: Because of my past history of loss, combined with my increased anxiety, my OB doctor thought that it would be beneficial to me both to know more about this baby and also because it gives me another opportunity to see the baby via ultrasound. The Hubby and I are firmly in belief that we will be happy with this baby regardless of any additional circumstances that may arrise. In other words, I am not doing the NT scan to find out if there is a disability to help me decide whether or not to terminate.
3) Are you planning on announcing the gender?: Nope. Absolutely not. We have decided that we will wait until delivery to find out the gender. We are excited and love guessing what “flavor” the baby is. But we have no intention of finding out before the day of birth. We are team YELLOW!
4) Ive heard you mention cloth diapers, are you planning on using them? Why?: We are planning on using cloth diapers. The biggest reason is that we both have very sensitive skin, and as an infant I had frequent irritation due to the disposable diapers. After doing some research we feel that cloth diapers are the best alternative and since they are better for the environment and amazing for the checkbook, that is the direction we are going. Does anyone have suggestions for the best type?
5) Will you be graduated before the baby is born?: This is the question that I get the most frequently. And the simple and answer is yes, and no. Yes I will be graduated from my current program. I will have my ADN and will be on the track to take my NCLEX. However….I still have a bunch of schooling I want to do. My goal was always to get my BSN and at the minimum my Masters in Public Health Nursing. I would love to continue on and become a CNM (Certified Nurse Midwife). Those will all happen after this baby and likely will occur at the same time as our growing family. I am a life long learner. I have no intention of ending my education any time soon, so I might as well be living my life while Im doing it!
6) What area of Nursing are you planning on specializing?: As I stated above, I am interested in midwifery. Ideally I would love to start out in L&D and then increase my knowledge and become an CNM. But I realize that with being fresh out of school my options will be limited to the available jobs, so that is just my ultimate goal. In the long run I would love to do villiage deliveries somewhere that still needs that service, many third world countries still make use of midwives as villiage OB’s. That is what I would love to be doing.
Any other questions for me?
Oncology, ICU and the annoyance of cravings
Starting from the top…This week we are having our exam on Oncology, or as our instructor calls it “Altered cellular growth”. Basically its the cancer exam. This exam encompasses one day of lecture and one week of time to study. In other words, I feel like Im screwed going into this one. We had a guest lecturer, which is usually an excellent learning tool except this time the lecturer went at rapid pace and skipped back and forth over the topics. I felt like I wound up self teaching this entire topic, and since I was so lost from the lecture I was highly unmotivated while studying. In other words, it sucked monkey balls and Im thinking that my test score will reflect this lack of motivation completely. 
Now onto the ICU. I spent last weeks clinicals romancing the ICU. Walking in I was not looking forward to working there, when I first started in Nursing school I desperately wanted to work in the ICU, but after spending the clinical rotation in the L&D I have since decided that I prefer womens health care. The ICU is full of very sick people who often have poor prognosis, and I am very sensitive to that. Dying people make me cry. Their families make me cry. It is just too hard. And my guess was correct, it was very difficult. There is just so much emotion in the ICU, people are praying and holding on to their loved ones, Nurses are scrambling to complete each task and to truly keep their patients alive. Its so hard.
The strangest part wasnt that the emotional aspect was difficult for me, but that there was just so much noise in the ICU and I was having a hard time focusing. Not the people noise, but the noise from all the machines, the beeping of the IV pumps, the dinging of the OG feedings, the whooshing of the ventillators, the sucking of the wound vacs and hemovacs, through all that I was just really over stimulated. I never thought I would be that way. I love the noise of the ED (emergency department), I love the hustle and bustle of a busy night with a full moon on payday in the ED. Those are the best nights. I dont mind the noise of people talking, screaming, yelling, arguing, laughing, crying. THose are fine noises. But the lack of voice and over abundant amount of electronic noise was so….distracting.
I loved the Nurses that I was blessed to get to work with. Those nurses are super heros, they deserve so much credit and I would love to be considered to be brilliant enough to join their ranks, but I just dont think that I am cut out to be one of them. Its a sad realization. A sad end to dream. But I suppose these are the types of things that you are supposed to learn while you are in school.
And now the last of my topics, the annoyance of cravings. Baby is keeping me from eating. And when I do find something that I “crave” by the time I make that food accesible I can no longer manage to gag it down. Im tired and totally missing eating. Its hard to be nauseas all the time, its wearing on my nerves and while I feel like I should be enjoying every minute I am lucky enough to be pregnant with this baby I am torn by being bitter that I am so sick. The mixed emotions combined with the hormonal moods are making me cry.
This weeks goal is to pull my SHIT together. I will spend this week getting back to myself. This is a good thing for both me and the Baby. I cannot wallow in this bad attitude for the next 29 weeks. I cant.
What are your goals for this week?
Prochoice versus prolife
I was watching the television last night and saw a commercial about prolife, I believe it was a religious commercial and it got me to thinking about my own beliefs.
I asked my facebook friends what their positions were and was given a wide range of opinions. I have a deeply weaved opinion of my own.
Basically I am prolife. The basic part is that I am prolife for myself, I dont deem to make the choice for others, but I know that I could never make the choice to end my pregnancy or to terminate this innocent life inside me. For other people, I am still certain that choosing to terminate your pregnancy is better than giving birth to a baby and abusing or neglecting it. I wont get into all the alternative options to abortion, because I know that every intelligent person knows that there are alternatives.
One of my girlfriends mentioned how her ultrasound changed her view on abortion. I have to agree. Watching the recent ultrasound and seeing Baby Bean roll, wiggle and wave his/her arms made the idea that there is a real life inside me so much more real. I dont know if many of the women who decide to abort get a chance to see their baby on ultrasound. I know that if it hadnt been for the ultrasounds that I have had, I would be so much less attached to Baby Bean. The visual images have made Baby Bean real, they have made me realize that I have a little person inside me.
Does this mean that I couldnt be supportive of a patient that chose to abort? Or a friend who felt that they didnt have any other choice? NO. I still believe in my heart that this is a decision that is best left to the parents of the baby. I could never begin to fathom the reasons for making this decision, but at the same time I have never walked in those shoes.
I know that there was a moment in time when I was going through my own dark time, dealing with a divorce, with school starting in a few weeks, and I thought that I may be pregnant. I remember thinking that I would never want to bring that mans child into the world, and that I would find some way to save that baby from being forced to have a Father like him.
The minutes that passed by waiting for that test to say the result were excruitating. Three minutes is a life time when you know you will have to deal with something horrible at the end of the buzzer. I weighed my options briefly and was sure that if it were positive I would choose to terminate the pregnancy, not so much for my own ease but to save the baby. Ironic, isnt it?
And now fast forward a couple years. I am married to a wonderful man and our baby is created out of love and want. This baby was no accident, it was planned, discussed, and prayed for. We feel blessed to get the opportunity to be a part of this childs life.
The basic conclusion to this post is that I can see both ways. And I know that when situations change people can change their minds, and suddenly options are opened up that may not have been.
So my amazing readers, what is your stance? Prolife or Prochoice?
When a photo is real…
Or better, when a photo makes things feel real. Thats how it felt when I saw the newest ultrasound. Crazy how a few images can make you catch your breath. There is a baby in my belly. A real, live, moving, heart beating baby. And we clearly saw it move, shake, wiggle, wave those little arm buds around and then listened to the sweet thud of its heart beat. Seriously that is the best sound in the universe.
I am a little disapointed that the Fibroid Friend (who shall remain nameless since I dont want it to stay) is still growing. Baby is measuring at about 1.5 inches and the Fibroid is 3 cm (2.54cm in an inch and that means that they are almost the same size). This is a vast increase from the last ultrasound where Fibroid was measuring just under 2cm. So assuming that it wasnt some measuring flaw last time (or this time) that means that the Dear Ole Fibroid has grown a serious amount in almost three weeks. This is annoying and concerning.
Atleast that explains the cramping Ive been having.
So what does this mean for Baby? Well, nothing for now. But if the Fibroid continues to grow and Baby continues to grow, it is going to be tight quarters in there towards the end. I have another appointment next week to discuss the ultrasound findings as well as to talk about the regular stuff. Ultimately Im trying to have faith that this will all work out.
As much as I am glad that this quarter it winding up and doesnt seem as time consuming as the last few, I almost wish I was doing my OB rotation now. I feel that I have such a better grasp of pregnancy and complications now, then I did in the fall quarter. Perhaps that is simply because of the amount of information I absorbed during lecture and now that I have the opportunity to put it into action it actually mean something. Maybe thats it.
Every day that goes by that I am blessed to be pregnant with this baby I believe more and more that my calling in life is to work in Womens health. I feel a drawing towards it. I feel like this is where I belong.
Are there moments in your life that make you feel drawn to something?
Nursing school midterm
I rocked my midterm. Only two little areas that she suggested I work on. I was thrilled! I am thrilled! It was the highlight to my yesterday.
I also finished and passed my final dosage exam! It was the absolute last one, and I am so happy that it is over.
This quarter is proving to be more challenging to me personally because of all the other things I spend worrying about. But academically I dont feel as pressured as I have in other quarters.
There are less than 4 months left until graduation and then its time for the BIG MOVE!
Dosage, midterm evals and the research paper
Today marks the quarterly dosage exam. For 5 quarters I freak out about this math test since I get horrible math anxiety and spend the week before it trying my hardest to relearn everything that I may have forgotten. Drop Factor, drip rate, Desired dose over dose on hand, etc. Every quarter I pass this exam with flying colors but spend days sick to my stomach about it.
This quarter is different. There are other things that seem so much bigger in the scheme of things (like dead babies, cramping, doctors appointments, and so on) so I studied a couple of hours but nothing like in previous terms. I take the test this afternoon so we will see if the new approach was effective. I feel pretty confident about it and I really hope that I did the right thing in maintaining my calm.
Tomorrow is my midterm eval for clinicals. I am really looking forward to this because I feel like I have been doing really well and really have the hang of assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, evaluation (ADPIE). I also feel like this quarter I have started to find my groove as a Nurse, I do my assessment in my own way. Its still systematic but instead of starting at the head, I start at the hands and got up and then back down to the feet. I feel that it gives the patient a little more “face” time with me before I start putting my hands on their heads. Im not saying its the best way to do things, but it works for me because I always start by shakking the patients hand and since I am there I can check pulses, cap refill, and strength. Im just happy that I found a way for me to make it work for me and still get all the neccessary things done. So I guess we will see tomorrow if my instructor feels like I am doing as well as I feel like Im doing.
I have a big research paper to work on this weekend. Not really excited about it, and even though I am still tossing back and forth about my topic I think I will just get on with it already. We were assigned the criteria to write the paper and the due date has to coincide with the topic we are discussing, and we get to pick the topic. I looked for interesting Neuro topics, but when the Neuro material was being lectured I was so busy with other things that I couldnt get it together. So we are now talking about Hematological stuff and I noticed that we didnt cover Hemochromatosis.
I had a coworker of mine who was diagnosed with Hemochromatosis a few years ago and I remember hearing and thinking how interesting it was. So I started looking into it and I think it would be worthy of my topic. Hemochromatosis an inherited condition where you absorb too much iron from food and it builds up in your blood. The excess iron causes damage to your liver, heart and pancreas and can lead to cancers, heart or liver disease and even death.
Interesting, right?
I think I find it the most interesting because I am iron deficient, and so the thought of having too much iron is facinating to me.
Alright, back to studying…..
Just one more night
Tomorrow Im leaving on a jet plane and heading off to the Windy City to see my husband. Sometimes I feel like these vacations are the military equivilant of a conjugal visit. Im not complaining, it always feels like another honeymoon.
And speaking of honeymoon, our first anniversary is this weekend! We will be celebrating it with a nice dinner at Chicagos famous Firehouse! Im so excited! This restaurant was featured on the food networks “Great Eats”!
Anyone from Chicago? Any suggestions of things to do out there?
As for today I just have to survive the rest of clinicals and take an online quiz and write two papers before I can leave. No problem right?
Thinking and hoping and planning and dreaming….
Yesterday I put in my graduation application. Yes, it is that close. There are only four months left until I am finished with this step of my education. I am still having a hard time believing that it is almost over. There are 5 weeks left to this term and then next term is just mentorship. Its all downhill from here, right?
And with the end in sight I am having a horrible amount of senioritis. Im burned out, tired, and incredibly frustrated. Im sure that a small portion of it is that I am pregnant and my patience is very thin, but a large amount of it is the continued lack of understanding and organization from my program.
I thought that it had gotten better, hence my lack of complaining about it. But the truth is that I have just gotten used to it. Sadly the school has pulled a fast one again. We were all sent an email late last week notifying us of a “mandatory” seminar on Friday. This wouldnt be a problem except that at the begining of the term we were told that this would be a long weekend for us, four days, so I planned to fly out to see my Hubby for out anniversary (and long weekend). The tickets are purchased and there is no changing the plans now.
The part that is the most frustrating to me is that I would have liked to have gone to the seminar. Our school is hosting Betty Neuman (Yes THE Betty Neuman). Nurse Neuman is the pioneer of Nursing Mental Health. Her involvement in Nursing is nearly as deeply rooted as Florence Nightingale (in my opinion). So you can see how it would have been interesting to get to participate with a woman so amazing and so passionate about Nursing.
But due to my schools lack of coordination and notice, I cannot go.
Dont get me wrong, I really want to see my Hubby, and I wouldnt miss our anniversary for the world. But at the same time, if I had known about this event earlier then I could have planned on taking a later flight and then gotten the best of both worlds.
*Sigh* I guess I just set my goals to high. I need to lower my expectations of the school so that they can meet them, and then I wont be so frustrated.
Have you ever met anyone famous?
Forced to participate
Today is Nurse Legislative day at the Capital. Like last year, my school has made attending this event mandatory. There is no option, and failure will result if you do not attend as it is considered an unexcused absence.
Last year I felt that this day was a general waste of time. Not because I think that the positions arent valid nor because I think that Nurses shouldnt be participating in the important legislative meetings. But I think that forcing students who have so many other things to do to participate in a political function is wrong. Not to mention that we were required to pay for this and drive roughly 80 miles to get to the function.
Those two fact alone can make this event overwhelming for students. I have a huge exam tomorrow, and I would much rather have spent the time studying than listening to political figures talk about their views.
Its just frustrating. Incredibly. Does your school require you to participate in these type of events? What do you think about being forced to participate in political functions?
Dealing with alcohol withdrawal
Working in just about any type of clinical facility you are likely to run into alcoholics and those who are going through withdrawal symptoms. I never really realized how dangerous withdrawal can be. It can be deadly. Amazingly the booze can kill you but so can discontinuing drinking abruptly.
I was talking with a Nurse on the unit today about a withdrawal patient and she was telling me about it is imperitive to ask patients if they drink and how often. And if it sounds like they drink frequently to push for how long it has been since their last drink. She said that sometimes she will even warn them about the importance by telling them that they can go into seizures and die if they go into withdrawal without the proper precautions inplace.
I knew a person a few years ago who was embarassed by his drinking and therefore lied to the doctors and nurses about how long it had been since his last drink. Sadly after 10 hours in the ER for an issue unrelated to ETOH and then being admitted and on the floor it had been about 20 hours since his last drink and he had a grand Mal seizure.
This poor guy wound up in Status Epilepticus secondary to alcohol withdrawal. Status Epilepticus is a serious medical condition that can be fatal.
Long story short, it is important as nurses not to pass judgement and to find a way to gain the trust and establish a relationship quickly with your patient so that they are willing to share this type of information. Never judge a book by its cover, just because the patient isnt a 50 year old homeless man with rotten teeth and booze breath doesnt mean that they arent possible alcoholics. Ask everyone. It can save a life.
And for those non medical folks, it is very important not to lie to your Nurses and Doctors. The information that they ask for is not because they are curious, it has a valid place in preventing serious complications.
And now, I step down from my soap box.
Happy Tuesday Everyone.
