Clinical

I had a great day in clinical today!

This morning I was so unsure about today and how it was going to go. I was nervous because it was the first day back since spring break and I thought it would maybe take me some time to get back into the swing of things.  But I jumped right in and everything was great. I loved my patients and learned so much!

Today was my first time passing meds and it finally made me feel like a real nurse! I can't believe that next week I will be checked off to finally give injections! I'm so nervous.

I get to do a little more each week...and each week gets that much better!

Coffee: America's Pick-Me-Up

Coffee and I have always had a hate-hate relationship . Ever since I was little I thought it was ridiculous to drink coffee for any reason. It was black, bitter, hot and only grown ups drank it. I could never understand why so many people drank coffee. I remember my parents making coffee every morning and hearing the coffee grinder going off at 5 o'clock in the morning when my dad left for work. Members at my church would go nuts for coffee as they socialized around the coffee pot. I mostly thought the people who couldn't function without their coffee were crazy!

Then something came along called nursing school and I am one of those people! I'm hooked! Now it's all about the love. I drink it every morning to get my day started and get crazy if I can't have it. It's warm and sweet and puts me in a better mood. I usually just have one cup, but sometimes I'll sneak two. And I love the sound of the coffee grinder in the morning because it reminds me of my dad [and because I know I'll soon be drinking a delicious cup of coffee].

Plus coffee mugs are too cute. My roommates and I have a whole cupboard full of coffee mugs, and by the end of the week the entire cupboard is empty. I think we only to dishes to wash our mugs, then whatever else gets washed is a plus!

I don't know what I would do without coffee ♥ It's definitely my pick-me-up.

10 months

Ok...so I have 10 more months of school left. But actually, that's not what I'm referring to. Today was a saddened day when I broke down and bit all my nails off. It has been 10 months since I have taken a bite of those juicy things, and I just wasn't strong enough to make it through the year. 10 months has been the longest I have ever gone without biting my nails, and I was sure I was in the clear for being cured. But I was wrong. This program has attacked all of my weaknesses and has an unavoidable response of pushing everyone into a  complete vulnerable state. My poor little nails are now tiny stubs. I did cry just for a little, because it's such an emotional thing.

Of course I will not give up, I will overcome this addicting habit.

Mid-term Already!?!?!

Tomorrow I have my first mid-term in fundamental's of nursing (aka Fundies), but I am not quite fully prepared. I have devoted my weekend to studying for this test, but it seems impossible. I currently have a 78% in the class, and need to maintain a 75% or higher. Of course I would love to get out of the C range, but this class is so unpredictable. The professor in this class is new, so she really has no idea what she is doing. But I really want to dominate this test, so I am at starbucks trying to cram 22 chapters of knowledge in my head. I am really just trying to keep my head above high waters right now.

I'm enjoying studying at starbucks though. The music is soothing and I don't feel like a completely loser like when I hide in the corner of the library.
                                  

"A Person's a Person"

With all the chaos surrounding me lately, I have been enjoying the little reminders of why I am in this program and devoting my life to nursing. If you haven't heard of the movie Horton Hears A Who, then it's definitely a must see. It may be a bit childish and cheesy, but the message is excellent. We were talking about the movie in class the other day and related it to nursing. In the movie, Horton stresses the statement, "A person's a person, no matter how small." This really applies to any kind of person. A person is a person, no matter how small, big, sick, healthy, needy, ugly, beautiful, unconscious, lonely, disfigured, immobile, religious, etc. Each person deserves the health care they deserve, and I want to be that nurse to provide them with the best emotional and physical care.

Today in church, as we were praying for the members in our congregation, there was a prayer for a man who had surgery to remove his cancerous kidney. However, after surgery, he found out they removed the wrong kidney. My heart sank for this man and his family, because a tragic event like that could have been prevented 100%. Currently in class, we are learning about surgeries and how to prevent errors, so I was in complete shock to hear this story. It is very rare to conduct a surgery on the wrong area with so many medical professionals watching over the patient. Please keep this man in your prayers as well as the doctors to correct this mistake.

Foot Update

So last Thursday I had an appointment with my podiatrist and it went so well. He's a great "Dr." and was so helpful. After examining my foot, he took some x-rays and found that I have an accessory bone in my foot. It's basically an extra bone that has no purpose; it's just in the way. Because I have been running most of my life, he thinks the bone has shifted and is now pushing against my peroneal tendon. We did some physical therapy exercises to see if the bone would shift back into place, and so far, my foot has felt so much better. If it doesn't heal completely I will need to have a cortisol shot to reduce the pain. During my shift at the hospital my feet get extremely tired, and I'm hoping I can adjust to standing all day soon.

I have another check up next week to see if anything has changed. 

Clinical Day #3

I wish I had some great stories to tell about my hospital experience, but there really isn't much to say. Plus, I probably wouldn't be able to talk about it anyway. But everything is going well in the hospital. The 12 hour days go by fast, which include the last two hours of debriefing with our instructor.

Every clinical day I get assigned to a nurse that I can follow, get bossed around or basically do whatever she wants me to do (in my limits of course). But I also get to choose a patient that I want to work with for the day and do my "nursing care plan" on. The nurisng care plan, in a nutshell, is assessing, diagnosing, and making recovery goals for the patient. They are rather difficult when I have yet to learn all of the medical jargon. I feel like I look up everything. What would I do without the Internet!?!?

They did keep me on my toes today, because I think I sat down twice. Once for lunch and once for charting on my patient. My feet were aching so bad, so thankfully I have an appointment with a podiatrist tomorrow. I'm hoping to get some sort of answer because my right foot has been giving me pain for quite some time now. I know it's serious because I haven't worn flip-flops in two months! I'm having some separation anxiety from my rainbows. It would be the worst news if the Dr. told me I couldn't wear flip-flops anymore. That is my biggest fear.

Day's are getting so tiring. It's 8:30pm and I am ready for bed :)