Friday, January 21, 2011
The Bug
No, not the cold bug that has currently taken up residence in my bloodstream...the scrapbooking bug! A new friend I met while volunteering at Anna's school lunch program is an avid scrapbooker and seeing her blog and hearing her talk about scrapbooking has infected me with the DESIRE TO CREATE! Ok that was maybe a little dramatic. However, I am looking forward to going to her scrapbooking day coming up soon. In the process of putting my desk together, I got out almost all of my material. Plus I'm helping my sister make the letters for Katelyn's room that we've been talking about for several months. All of this has shown me how sadly depleted my supplies are and how badly a trip to Hobby Lobby is needed. ;) :) :) Hobby Lobby deserves more than one smiley face. Hobby Lobby and scrapbooking supplies deserves a whole post of smilies. I have a whole bunch of pages torn out of magazines and saved to my computer of pages I'd like to steal ideas from. The truth is that I have way too many supplies as it is- more supplies than I could use in a lot of pages. Yet somehow... I need more!!! That's the nature of the bug!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Snow Day
My day has turned changed directions about 4 times already and its only 10:30. I was supposed to be enjoying the company of a friend that I never get to see and her babies but the snow put a stop to that. (stupid snow trapping me inside). At the thought of being trapped inside alone all day with a restless and full of energy 4 year old while feeling like sh.. less than optimal, the feelings of insanity began to rise rapidly. I put out the call for rescue and my sister promised to come over and hang out and work on some decorations for baby Katelyn's room. Yea! No more craziness for Amber! Since I knew some company was in sight, I leaned into the snow day and for some reason (perhaps the crazy had set in a little without me knowing) I decided it was a great idea to start about 10 projects. So I opened up my catchall back bathroom and started pulling out all the accumulated stuff to throw away, put away, or whatever else needed to be done. As I started that I found more and more things that fit in quite well with the decorations I have started for my bedroom and bathroom so I pulled all that out too! The bathroom is about half cleaned out, I have 3 small painting projects halfway done sitting on my kitchen counters, various other things scattered around that need to be put away, my desk is rapidly gathering a large amount of paperwork, my school stuff is half done and school starts Monday, something I need to hang in Anna's room is sitting on my kitchen counter, and laundry is about a quarter done, and I just made the mistake of sitting down. And the crappy sick feeling set in right away of course. I guess I forgot that you should never sit down in the middle of a large project! At least the carpet is vacuumed!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Skills testing
WOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOO! Skills testing is over and done with for another semester. Only one more of those awful days to do before graduation! I passed all my skills so don't need to return for another try. :) Now to relax the rest of the week, finish up projects, get organized for school and did I say relax?
Monday, January 17, 2011
Short clinical stories - number 2
Since you all seem to enjoy hearing about me making an idiot of myself, I thought I'd throw some more fuel on the fire. I'm pretty sure everyone that knows me knows that I hate drawing attention to myself. Not a big contributor in class, don't like being in front of people really, not a big ceremony type person because of all the eyes staring at you... you get the point. Well, let me tell you, one really good way to make people come running to look at you is to set off alarms. In a hospital. Yep... I did that. More than one actually. Cause why do things halfway?
The first alarm I set off was actually at the nursing home where we did a rotation. I was helping a rather feisty older lady go to the bathroom. There was an alarm on her chair to make sure that if she fell someone would come running to make sure she was ok. Well, to get the poor lady on the toilet, and she of course needed to go RIGHT NOW, I had to detach her chair alarm. I did NOT however realize that these alarms are impossible to turn off. Seriously, I mean impossible. I guess I was thinking I could just remove the alarm piece that is attached to the person from the piece attached to the chair and then hit a switch or turn a knob or whatever and make it stop the awful noise. No no no... of course not! No, this thing had no switch, no knob, no NOTHING to make it stop the caterwauling. So here I am, with a none to steady lady sitting on the toilet, a wheelchair crammed into this very small bathroom and I cannot figure out how to make this alarm shut up already. Of course, hearing this alarm, a nurse comes bursting into the room, expecting to find someone laying on the floor in pain from falling. Once I explain to her the situation she tells me you just have to detach the piece on the patient from said patient, replace the piece on the patient to the piece on the chair and it will go off on its own. Of course it will. As she left the room I heard her remark in a rather irritated and exasperated way to another nurse "...its fine, its just a student in the room..."
The second alarm I set off was literally the very next week. This time I was in a patients room that was being monitored closely for the oxygen level in her blood. If she wasn't breathing deeply enough and often enough it make a completely different awful sound. I have never seen this machine or been taught how to use it, how to turn it off or down, and definitely not how to avoid setting it off. I went in first thing and took her blood pressure on the arm that also had the monitoring device on it, because her iv was in the other arm and you're not supposed to take blood pressure on the arm they have an iv in. What I didn't realize was that if you take blood pressure on an arm that is hooked up to that monitor you have to remove the monitoring piece first or it sets off the machine. Which if exactly what it did. BIG SIGH. Again with the running in and the explaining that I'm sorry I'm an idiot, please forgive me for not knowing how to work every bleeping machine in the hospital that I've never seen before.
The third alarm encounter happened later that day with the lady in the bed next to my patient. NOT EVEN MY PATIENT PEOPLE! She badly needed to use the bathroom (what is it with me and this scenario?), and had a bed alarm on. I couldn't find her student nurse to save my life and she had to go NOW. Of course, trying to learn from my mistake of the week prior, I was hesitant to just take start detaching pieces of the alarm. By this time I am getting severely pissed off that we haven't had a course in the thousand and one ways you can set off an alarm while doing clinicals class. Luckily, I managed to snag a passing pca to show me how to work this alarm before I set it off. Again, with the exasperated "really?" look however. Love those.
So perhaps you think that was the end of my alarm stories? Oh no no no. The SAME day, I was coming out of the supply room, hit the big red exit button that allows you to open the door, and the blasted door alarm (which I didn't even know existed in that room!) started going off! At this point, I am thinking "you have GOT to be kidding me" and "is this some sort of sick joke?" I look everywhere, EVERYWHERE to figure out what the heck had even set off the thing! I've gone in and out of supply rooms all semester. They're all pretty much the same- hit big red button, open door, leave. Nothing to it. Until that day. I did not know what to do. I tracked down a friend in clinical with me, dragged him down there, and begged him to make it stop ringing. I'm not sure he gave it much of a try because of the laughing. Finally, I had to just leave the room and wander the halls looking for a friendly face to tell me how to turn the da*n thing off. Turns out, that particular room has a problem with the big red button getting stuck halfway down.
Good, good times.
The first alarm I set off was actually at the nursing home where we did a rotation. I was helping a rather feisty older lady go to the bathroom. There was an alarm on her chair to make sure that if she fell someone would come running to make sure she was ok. Well, to get the poor lady on the toilet, and she of course needed to go RIGHT NOW, I had to detach her chair alarm. I did NOT however realize that these alarms are impossible to turn off. Seriously, I mean impossible. I guess I was thinking I could just remove the alarm piece that is attached to the person from the piece attached to the chair and then hit a switch or turn a knob or whatever and make it stop the awful noise. No no no... of course not! No, this thing had no switch, no knob, no NOTHING to make it stop the caterwauling. So here I am, with a none to steady lady sitting on the toilet, a wheelchair crammed into this very small bathroom and I cannot figure out how to make this alarm shut up already. Of course, hearing this alarm, a nurse comes bursting into the room, expecting to find someone laying on the floor in pain from falling. Once I explain to her the situation she tells me you just have to detach the piece on the patient from said patient, replace the piece on the patient to the piece on the chair and it will go off on its own. Of course it will. As she left the room I heard her remark in a rather irritated and exasperated way to another nurse "...its fine, its just a student in the room..."
The second alarm I set off was literally the very next week. This time I was in a patients room that was being monitored closely for the oxygen level in her blood. If she wasn't breathing deeply enough and often enough it make a completely different awful sound. I have never seen this machine or been taught how to use it, how to turn it off or down, and definitely not how to avoid setting it off. I went in first thing and took her blood pressure on the arm that also had the monitoring device on it, because her iv was in the other arm and you're not supposed to take blood pressure on the arm they have an iv in. What I didn't realize was that if you take blood pressure on an arm that is hooked up to that monitor you have to remove the monitoring piece first or it sets off the machine. Which if exactly what it did. BIG SIGH. Again with the running in and the explaining that I'm sorry I'm an idiot, please forgive me for not knowing how to work every bleeping machine in the hospital that I've never seen before.
The third alarm encounter happened later that day with the lady in the bed next to my patient. NOT EVEN MY PATIENT PEOPLE! She badly needed to use the bathroom (what is it with me and this scenario?), and had a bed alarm on. I couldn't find her student nurse to save my life and she had to go NOW. Of course, trying to learn from my mistake of the week prior, I was hesitant to just take start detaching pieces of the alarm. By this time I am getting severely pissed off that we haven't had a course in the thousand and one ways you can set off an alarm while doing clinicals class. Luckily, I managed to snag a passing pca to show me how to work this alarm before I set it off. Again, with the exasperated "really?" look however. Love those.
So perhaps you think that was the end of my alarm stories? Oh no no no. The SAME day, I was coming out of the supply room, hit the big red exit button that allows you to open the door, and the blasted door alarm (which I didn't even know existed in that room!) started going off! At this point, I am thinking "you have GOT to be kidding me" and "is this some sort of sick joke?" I look everywhere, EVERYWHERE to figure out what the heck had even set off the thing! I've gone in and out of supply rooms all semester. They're all pretty much the same- hit big red button, open door, leave. Nothing to it. Until that day. I did not know what to do. I tracked down a friend in clinical with me, dragged him down there, and begged him to make it stop ringing. I'm not sure he gave it much of a try because of the laughing. Finally, I had to just leave the room and wander the halls looking for a friendly face to tell me how to turn the da*n thing off. Turns out, that particular room has a problem with the big red button getting stuck halfway down.
Good, good times.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Short clinical stories - number 1 -Medicine mishap
One bright, sunny clinical morning I was in the med room minding my own business, getting my medications all straight and ready to give. One of my bestest friends walks in and starts to draw up morphine. Normally, you draw back the same amt of air that you are going to draw up of medicine and push the air into the vial of medication. I honestly have no idea why- pressure maybe? Anyhow, she starts to draw up morphine from this little tiny glass tube, realizes she has forgotten to push in the air, starts over. Pushes air into the tube and the end of the tube literally explodes across the room. Apparently, you never push air into those types of tubes! Morphine flys everywhere, including all over my face. I told her next time to let me know ahead of time and I'll open my mouth!
putting some things to the test
Ok, my desk is all mostly complete. Everything is all mostly filed and all mostly straightened. My handy calender that is going to be my best friend is as filled out as I can make it at the moment. My bill book has a little more information to enter, my school stuff ... well it needs some more work. I'll get to that when my syllabus opens up hopefully this weekend. My couponing is started and I am making up a grocery list and a meal plan for the next two weeks. My dog is still on her leash constantly beside me. I am making progress in the attempt to get my life back in a workable order that won't send me to the looney bin. Which is where I almost went last semester. Next week starts the true craziness with my class work starting back up. And today starts the beginning of my attempt at couponing and better meal planning. I'll let ya know how it goes!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Super super funny stuff
perhaps this strikes me as funny because of the stage we are in with Anna...for whatever reason I laughed til I cried- enjoy!
Lesson 1
1. Go to the grocery store.
2. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.
3. Go home.
4. Pick up the paper.
5. Read it for the last time.
Lesson 2
Before you finally go ahead and have children, find a couple who already are parents and berate them about their...
1. Methods of discipline.
2. Lack of patience.
3. Appallingly low tolerance levels.
4. Allowing their children to run wild.
5. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's breastfeeding, sleep habits, toilet training, table manners, and overall behavior.
Enjoy it because it will be the last time in your life you will have all the answers.
Lesson 3
A really good way to discover how the nights might feel...
1. Get home from work and immediately begin walking around the living room from 5PM to 10PM carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12 pounds, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly. (Eat cold food with one hand for dinner)
2. At 10PM, put the bag gently down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep.
3. Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag, until 1AM.
4. Set the alarm for 3AM.
5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2AM and make a drink and watch an infomercial.
6. Go to bed at 2:45AM.
7. Get up at 3AM when the alarm goes off.
8. Sing songs quietly in the dark until 4AM.
9. Get up. Make breakfast. Get ready for work and go to work (work hard and be productive)
Repeat steps 1-9 each night. Keep this up for 3-5 years. Look cheerful and together.
Lesson 4
Can you stand the mess children make? T o find out...
1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains.
2. Hide a piece of raw chicken behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.
3. Stick your fingers in the flower bed.
4. Then rub them on the clean walls.
5. Take your favorite book, photo album, etc. Wreck it.
6. Spill milk on your new pillows. Cover the stains with crayons. How does that look?
Lesson 5
Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems.
1. Buy an octopus and a small bag made out of loose mesh.
2. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out.
Time allowed for this - all morning.
Lesson 6
Forget the BMW and buy a mini-van. And don't think that you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like that.
1. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment.
Leave it there.
2. Get a dime. Stick it in the CD player.
3. Take a family size package of chocolate cookies. Mash them into the back seat. Sprinkle cheerios all over the floor, then smash them with your foot.
4. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.
Lesson 7
Go to the local grocery store. Take with you the closest thing you can find to a pre-school child. (A full-grown goat is an excellent choice). If you intend to have more than one child, then definitely take more than one goat. Buy your week's groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys. Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.
Lesson 8
1. Hollow out a melon.
2. Make a small hole in the side.
3. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side.
4. Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane.
5. Continue until half the Cheerios are gone.
6. Tip half into your lap. The other half, just throw up in the air.
You are now ready to feed a nine- month-old baby.
Lesson 9
Learn the names of every character from Sesame Street , Barney, Disney, the Teletubbies, and Pokemon. Watch nothing else on TV but PBS, the Disney channel or Noggin for at least five years. (I know, you're thinking What's 'Noggin'?) Exactly the point.
Lesson 10
Make a recording of Fran Drescher saying 'mommy' repeatedly. (Important: no more than a four second delay between each 'mommy'; occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet is required). Play this tape in your car everywhere you go for the next four years. You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.
Lesson 11
Start talking to an adult of your choice. Have someone else continually tug on your skirt hem, shirt- sleeve, or elbow while playing the 'mommy' tape made from Lesson 10 above. You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.
This is all very tongue in cheek; anyone who is parent will say 'it's all worth it!' Share it with your friends, both those who do and don't have kids. I guarantee they'll get a chuckle out of it. Remember, a sense of humor is one of the most important things you'll need when you become a parent!
If you are thinking of having kids you must read this!!! Parents will love it too!
Lesson 1
1. Go to the grocery store.
2. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.
3. Go home.
4. Pick up the paper.
5. Read it for the last time.
Lesson 2
Before you finally go ahead and have children, find a couple who already are parents and berate them about their...
1. Methods of discipline.
2. Lack of patience.
3. Appallingly low tolerance levels.
4. Allowing their children to run wild.
5. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's breastfeeding, sleep habits, toilet training, table manners, and overall behavior.
Enjoy it because it will be the last time in your life you will have all the answers.
Lesson 3
A really good way to discover how the nights might feel...
1. Get home from work and immediately begin walking around the living room from 5PM to 10PM carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12 pounds, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly. (Eat cold food with one hand for dinner)
2. At 10PM, put the bag gently down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep.
3. Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag, until 1AM.
4. Set the alarm for 3AM.
5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2AM and make a drink and watch an infomercial.
6. Go to bed at 2:45AM.
7. Get up at 3AM when the alarm goes off.
8. Sing songs quietly in the dark until 4AM.
9. Get up. Make breakfast. Get ready for work and go to work (work hard and be productive)
Repeat steps 1-9 each night. Keep this up for 3-5 years. Look cheerful and together.
Lesson 4
Can you stand the mess children make? T o find out...
1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains.
2. Hide a piece of raw chicken behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.
3. Stick your fingers in the flower bed.
4. Then rub them on the clean walls.
5. Take your favorite book, photo album, etc. Wreck it.
6. Spill milk on your new pillows. Cover the stains with crayons. How does that look?
Lesson 5
Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems.
1. Buy an octopus and a small bag made out of loose mesh.
2. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out.
Time allowed for this - all morning.
Lesson 6
Forget the BMW and buy a mini-van. And don't think that you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like that.
1. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment.
Leave it there.
2. Get a dime. Stick it in the CD player.
3. Take a family size package of chocolate cookies. Mash them into the back seat. Sprinkle cheerios all over the floor, then smash them with your foot.
4. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.
Lesson 7
Go to the local grocery store. Take with you the closest thing you can find to a pre-school child. (A full-grown goat is an excellent choice). If you intend to have more than one child, then definitely take more than one goat. Buy your week's groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys. Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.
Lesson 8
1. Hollow out a melon.
2. Make a small hole in the side.
3. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side.
4. Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane.
5. Continue until half the Cheerios are gone.
6. Tip half into your lap. The other half, just throw up in the air.
You are now ready to feed a nine- month-old baby.
Lesson 9
Learn the names of every character from Sesame Street , Barney, Disney, the Teletubbies, and Pokemon. Watch nothing else on TV but PBS, the Disney channel or Noggin for at least five years. (I know, you're thinking What's 'Noggin'?) Exactly the point.
Lesson 10
Make a recording of Fran Drescher saying 'mommy' repeatedly. (Important: no more than a four second delay between each 'mommy'; occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet is required). Play this tape in your car everywhere you go for the next four years. You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.
Lesson 11
Start talking to an adult of your choice. Have someone else continually tug on your skirt hem, shirt- sleeve, or elbow while playing the 'mommy' tape made from Lesson 10 above. You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.
This is all very tongue in cheek; anyone who is parent will say 'it's all worth it!' Share it with your friends, both those who do and don't have kids. I guarantee they'll get a chuckle out of it. Remember, a sense of humor is one of the most important things you'll need when you become a parent!
Monday, January 10, 2011
Life at 7:51 on the 10th of January 2011
I'm a shut in tonight- boo. Bad roads and a bad driver (me- I'm the bad driver) are not a good combo. Plus Adam is sick so boo on that, too. I'm missing the baby shower of a dear friend from my childhood which makes me sad. :( Instead of being at said shower, I'm currently sitting at my desk that I love love love and am contemplating what else I need to do to make the house all comfy and cosy and organized and clean before the semester starts. I have a pile of papers on my desk to sort through, information to get written down so its easily found again when I need it, a room to pick up, a file cabinet to start, skills for testing to perfect, dates to mark down on the calender, gifts to purchase, the list goes on and on. Life is good! There is much work to do, but its good work. Good fulfilling work. I practiced today in the LRC with my wonderful friend Tedra. We are two peas in a pod in a lot of ways. It's fun being her friend. Had my first SNA meeting (Student Nurses Association) tonight. I'm VP. That's right- I'm a pretty big deal. Surprised you didn't already know that. I'm going to try for one more counsel-y type thing at the school but have no idea how they actually decide on someone so we'll just have to see how that goes. I need to get with Anna's school about the lunch program as well. Might as well fill my schedule as completely full as possible right? I actually wish there was another way I could get involved up there. I really enjoy being connected and knowing people and having them know me. I like the belonging. I think I'm going to see if I can open my curtains nicely situated behind my desk (yes I block windows with desks or dressers- I know its bad decorating but it gives me such a nice "no one can break in" kind of feeling) and watch the pretty snow. Ok well, its either not snowing anymore or the flakes are so small I can't really see them. Still the snow on the ground and deck give it a nice peaceful feeling in here esp with most of the lights out. Anna is snoozing, Adam is playing his game, poor Molly dog has been put to bed, and I don't know where my kitty is. That's what I really need- a kitty purring by me. Speaking of cats- I really want another one. Or another 2. Three cats seems like a really good number. I promised Anna we would get two next time we are cat shopping. My Katie Cat is getting older :( so that may be sooner than we think. If I didn't have Molly I'd go out right now and get two kittens. Darn that Molly! Well, I suppose I should actually get around to doing the above mentioned things so that not all of them get put off til tomorrow.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
My favorite clinical week of 2nd semester
I've written this post 3 times already but it always goes so long and is full of information that even I realize is so not interesting to anyone not in nursing school. So I think I've finally condensed it into only the important information.
**Brad- this shouldn't be a gag worthy post but proceed at your own risk! You might get a good laugh**
My favorite (and by favorite I mean worst of the semester) clinical week, I had a contact isolation patient. For anyone that doesn't know, that simply means that they have some sort of infection (like staph) that they would like to avoid spreading to all the other patients, nurses, visitors and by extension everyone in the known world, from contracting. Now, I will be honest, contact isolation patients are really not that hard. They are just more of a pain in the rear to take care of. Anytime you have to enter the patients room you have to put on a paper gown over your scrubs to protect everything from the germs. Simple right? Sigh. Its always the little things that get you.
Here's a very condensed list of all the irritating things that happened the first day...
1. My penlight that I needed for my physical assessment was underneath my tight gown in my scrubs pocket. I couldn't reach the penlight without either contaminating everything or without taking all my protective gear off, stepping outside the room, and then putting everything back on again. After several times of needing something underneath my gown, I started pulling everything I might possibly need ever out of my pockets before I touched anything.
2. You can't use your own stethoscope (well I suppose you could but ick) so I had to use the one in the room. Which I am pretty sure is the same one my daughter has for her dolls. It is also the same one everyone else that comes in the room uses. Double ick. I think I might have scrubbed the ear pieces so hard that they will never be the same.
3. When I took in her breakfast tray (we not only do the nursing duties, we also act as the pca while we are on the floor), I realized as I was stepping in the doorway that I needed to gown and glove up. With a heavy tray of hot liquid (she was on a clear liquid diet) in my hands. I couldn't for the life of me figure out how they accomplished this. I didn't want to set her tray on the floor! And its a no-no to walk around the hallways in gown and gloves so I couldn't gown up and then walk down to her room with the tray. My very nice and helpful pca was kind enough to show me a handy little tray that pulls out of the linen closet right outside the room to set the tray on while I put everything else on. I have no idea why I didn't know they were there before.
4. While I was gathering up linen for a bed change, there was apparently some ummm.... bathroom issues. Which I didn't realized given that I was halfway across the hospital getting all the linens and towels I needed. Normally the linen closets are nicely stocked but not so much that day. When I got back to the room, pca's were swarming getting everything cleaned up. Which made me feel terrible since that is my job. I needed to drop everything, gown up and go help. But of course, the holder outside here room was out of gowns. Of course it was, cause why wouldn't it be at the worst possible time?
5. IV meds needed pushed (this is the medication that is injected directly into the tubing with a syringe). I swear to all that is holy I checked what fluids had been running through the tubing and checked compatibility on the one that had been running and the one I was going to push. Got all my equipment and medication ready. Realized I was going to have to give it in front of a different instructor who intimidates the hell out of me instead of my wonderful instructor who I love. Immediately was flooded with fear and anxiety. Got in the room, talked it over with the instructor, she asked me about compatibility and when I went to show her which iv bag I had checked, SOMEHOW (I blame the devil) the one that had (I SWEAR) not had any fluid at all in it earlier, all the sudden had a small amount in there still running. Of course, this is not the one I checked to make sure it wouldn't react with my medication and crystalize the tubing. So I look like a complete idiot. Great. At least I caught it on my own. When I actually get around to giving the medication (don't worry, we checked it and everything was indeed fine and dandy), my hands are shaking so bad that I'm surprised the syringe didn't just drop right out. I also was at this time completely freaked out that every little bubble in the tubing is going to kill my patient. (Turns out you need like a pretty good amount of air to actually hurt someone- good to know). So I asked her like 83 times if the pin sized bubble in the tubing was ok. The obvious "for the love of all that is holy, just give the medicine already" look that she shot me was fun. Good times.
6. Threw away my watch and phone cover because I touched them by accident with my germy hands while trying to reach underneath the dang yellow protective gown and get something I needed from my pocket. I just knew they had all kinds of good germs to take home to Anna on them.
7. Patient desperately wanted a shower and hair washing. Got her all situated in the shower, then realized her bandage had just been changed. And that I had no idea how in the heck I was going to get her showered and cleaned without getting the bandage (which was on her stomach) wet. Huge sigh. We settled on a hair washing and she could just sponge off the rest of her. The shower sprayer doesn't reach down very far and people...by the time I was done and had her out of the shower, I was literally, literally, SOAKED from the thighs down. SOAKED. To top it all off, I have been slowly losing weight and apparently had lost enough so that my scrub pants wouldn't stay up well. I realized as I was getting her back to bed that my soaking wet pants have slipped completely off my butt and are still on a downward slide. And I didn't know how to reach down and pull them up because of my germy hands!!!
8. My poor instructor had a slightly hysterical student crying and saying things like "I'm just never ever going to be good at this!" to deal with by the end of the day. I'm not saying it was me but....
**Brad- this shouldn't be a gag worthy post but proceed at your own risk! You might get a good laugh**
My favorite (and by favorite I mean worst of the semester) clinical week, I had a contact isolation patient. For anyone that doesn't know, that simply means that they have some sort of infection (like staph) that they would like to avoid spreading to all the other patients, nurses, visitors and by extension everyone in the known world, from contracting. Now, I will be honest, contact isolation patients are really not that hard. They are just more of a pain in the rear to take care of. Anytime you have to enter the patients room you have to put on a paper gown over your scrubs to protect everything from the germs. Simple right? Sigh. Its always the little things that get you.
Here's a very condensed list of all the irritating things that happened the first day...
1. My penlight that I needed for my physical assessment was underneath my tight gown in my scrubs pocket. I couldn't reach the penlight without either contaminating everything or without taking all my protective gear off, stepping outside the room, and then putting everything back on again. After several times of needing something underneath my gown, I started pulling everything I might possibly need ever out of my pockets before I touched anything.
2. You can't use your own stethoscope (well I suppose you could but ick) so I had to use the one in the room. Which I am pretty sure is the same one my daughter has for her dolls. It is also the same one everyone else that comes in the room uses. Double ick. I think I might have scrubbed the ear pieces so hard that they will never be the same.
3. When I took in her breakfast tray (we not only do the nursing duties, we also act as the pca while we are on the floor), I realized as I was stepping in the doorway that I needed to gown and glove up. With a heavy tray of hot liquid (she was on a clear liquid diet) in my hands. I couldn't for the life of me figure out how they accomplished this. I didn't want to set her tray on the floor! And its a no-no to walk around the hallways in gown and gloves so I couldn't gown up and then walk down to her room with the tray. My very nice and helpful pca was kind enough to show me a handy little tray that pulls out of the linen closet right outside the room to set the tray on while I put everything else on. I have no idea why I didn't know they were there before.
4. While I was gathering up linen for a bed change, there was apparently some ummm.... bathroom issues. Which I didn't realized given that I was halfway across the hospital getting all the linens and towels I needed. Normally the linen closets are nicely stocked but not so much that day. When I got back to the room, pca's were swarming getting everything cleaned up. Which made me feel terrible since that is my job. I needed to drop everything, gown up and go help. But of course, the holder outside here room was out of gowns. Of course it was, cause why wouldn't it be at the worst possible time?
5. IV meds needed pushed (this is the medication that is injected directly into the tubing with a syringe). I swear to all that is holy I checked what fluids had been running through the tubing and checked compatibility on the one that had been running and the one I was going to push. Got all my equipment and medication ready. Realized I was going to have to give it in front of a different instructor who intimidates the hell out of me instead of my wonderful instructor who I love. Immediately was flooded with fear and anxiety. Got in the room, talked it over with the instructor, she asked me about compatibility and when I went to show her which iv bag I had checked, SOMEHOW (I blame the devil) the one that had (I SWEAR) not had any fluid at all in it earlier, all the sudden had a small amount in there still running. Of course, this is not the one I checked to make sure it wouldn't react with my medication and crystalize the tubing. So I look like a complete idiot. Great. At least I caught it on my own. When I actually get around to giving the medication (don't worry, we checked it and everything was indeed fine and dandy), my hands are shaking so bad that I'm surprised the syringe didn't just drop right out. I also was at this time completely freaked out that every little bubble in the tubing is going to kill my patient. (Turns out you need like a pretty good amount of air to actually hurt someone- good to know). So I asked her like 83 times if the pin sized bubble in the tubing was ok. The obvious "for the love of all that is holy, just give the medicine already" look that she shot me was fun. Good times.
6. Threw away my watch and phone cover because I touched them by accident with my germy hands while trying to reach underneath the dang yellow protective gown and get something I needed from my pocket. I just knew they had all kinds of good germs to take home to Anna on them.
7. Patient desperately wanted a shower and hair washing. Got her all situated in the shower, then realized her bandage had just been changed. And that I had no idea how in the heck I was going to get her showered and cleaned without getting the bandage (which was on her stomach) wet. Huge sigh. We settled on a hair washing and she could just sponge off the rest of her. The shower sprayer doesn't reach down very far and people...by the time I was done and had her out of the shower, I was literally, literally, SOAKED from the thighs down. SOAKED. To top it all off, I have been slowly losing weight and apparently had lost enough so that my scrub pants wouldn't stay up well. I realized as I was getting her back to bed that my soaking wet pants have slipped completely off my butt and are still on a downward slide. And I didn't know how to reach down and pull them up because of my germy hands!!!
8. My poor instructor had a slightly hysterical student crying and saying things like "I'm just never ever going to be good at this!" to deal with by the end of the day. I'm not saying it was me but....
Thursday, January 6, 2011
I'm still alive!
Been gone awhile. Nuff said about that as I have no real excuse beyond overwhelmedness.... or as my friend Julie asked me "where have you been? In a hole!?!" HA! yes.. a hole called Nursing School and Mommyhood.
Getting ready shortly to start my 3rd semester. Apparently this is hard for me to believe as I asked my friend Tedra tonight why she already ordered her background check a semester early since we don't have to do that til 3rd semester! Geez... and they're shortly going to give me a nursing license! well... let's hope anyways.
I'm excited to start 3rd semester actually. We get to go to some cool floors. And some not cool ones. We have to do psych this semester and I am terrified. I know that is probably surprising since Iam love crazy but I more love harmless crazy, not "you never know when I'll stab you with a knife" crazy. We also go to labor and delivery (only one day- boo!!! wish this one was a whole semester), nicu, oncology, and pediatrics. I'm sure I will learn a ton. And hopefully stay off clinical contract. Rumor is almost everyone in 3rd is put on contract at one time or another. For not knowing how to do things like brain surgery on your own. Good times.
Let's see...what else. My sister is due mid-March. Super excited. Can't wait for sweet baby Katelyn Grace.
I'm currently trying to finish up Anna's room renovations. Well, ok that sounds more extreme like I knocked down walls or something... this is more of a redecoration. I'll post pics.
I'm also smack dab (literally- that's where I'm typing from) in the middle of fixing me up a nice little desk area in our room for scrapbooking, bill paying, coupondoing cutting finding whatever, and various other things. I'm very happy at the thought of having a space of my own, to have room to scrapbook again (time is another thing entirely), and a way to keep my various things organized. Most days I walk around feeling like I'm losing my mind because I can't keep anything straight and the other day it occurred to me that perhaps this is because everything is just thrown in a pile as opposed to being kept in the neatness and order that is ever so dear to my heart. (shut up Adam- I'm not talking about housekeeping here.)
Speaking of coupon...whatever... this is another project I decided to attempt. Adam thinks I'm crazy (surprise) to waste my time on it but I am so tempted by the paying 10$ for a thousand things that I keep hearing tons of people talking about! I must try this! We'll see.
Molly dog has been grounded to being on her leash with me everywhere we go in the house. That's fun. I am however, quite desperate to get this dog to behave so we'll be best buds for a while. We've only knocked off a few things so far by getting the leash cord caught on something. :)
I do have a few fun nursing school stories to share from last semester. And some to NEVER EVER EVER share. If you are one of the very very few people that know those stories you keep your mouth shut or we will never speak again! LOL! I'll try to roll them out a few at a time so you don't get too bored. I only had one crying breakdown while one the floor, didn't kill anyone or make any medication errors, so we'll consider the semester a success!
Getting ready shortly to start my 3rd semester. Apparently this is hard for me to believe as I asked my friend Tedra tonight why she already ordered her background check a semester early since we don't have to do that til 3rd semester! Geez... and they're shortly going to give me a nursing license! well... let's hope anyways.
I'm excited to start 3rd semester actually. We get to go to some cool floors. And some not cool ones. We have to do psych this semester and I am terrified. I know that is probably surprising since I
Let's see...what else. My sister is due mid-March. Super excited. Can't wait for sweet baby Katelyn Grace.
I'm currently trying to finish up Anna's room renovations. Well, ok that sounds more extreme like I knocked down walls or something... this is more of a redecoration. I'll post pics.
I'm also smack dab (literally- that's where I'm typing from) in the middle of fixing me up a nice little desk area in our room for scrapbooking, bill paying, coupon
Speaking of coupon...whatever... this is another project I decided to attempt. Adam thinks I'm crazy (surprise) to waste my time on it but I am so tempted by the paying 10$ for a thousand things that I keep hearing tons of people talking about! I must try this! We'll see.
Molly dog has been grounded to being on her leash with me everywhere we go in the house. That's fun. I am however, quite desperate to get this dog to behave so we'll be best buds for a while. We've only knocked off a few things so far by getting the leash cord caught on something. :)
I do have a few fun nursing school stories to share from last semester. And some to NEVER EVER EVER share. If you are one of the very very few people that know those stories you keep your mouth shut or we will never speak again! LOL! I'll try to roll them out a few at a time so you don't get too bored. I only had one crying breakdown while one the floor, didn't kill anyone or make any medication errors, so we'll consider the semester a success!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)