Classes & Clinicals & Exams- Oh My!

Nursing school- my current frontier. My ongoing mission- to learn what I need to learn without completely losing my mind.

[theta-sigma]

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THIS. is awesome.

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Mandatory Potluck - that's different

Tomorrow, we find out where we will be assigned next semester.  The possible hospitals are Littleton Adventist, St. Anthony North, Sky Ridge, Azura (a rehabilitation center) or Exempla St. Joseph's.  I really want to go to St. Joe's - that's where I had my 'go to nursing school' call.  They're fantastic at what they do.  But any of the hospitals would be fine, I just don't want the rehab center.  I signed up for dual-enrollment in a BSN program just to avoid being sent to a rehab center.  

The news is supposed to be delivered tomorrow morning at the mandatory evaluations/potluck.  If it's bad news, at least I'll be able to self-medicate with food ;)  

Here's hoping that won't feel necessary.

[planqpoint3-blog]

Packing hours of dry, stifling format into a 2 page paper

APA is so stifling.  There's no room for humor, or creativity, or dragons....

Time for sleep.  Clinicals start at 0600.

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Woodland creatures wanted. Cleaning tools provided.

One of the first things we were told in orientation was that if we had any OCD issues about cleaning and cooking, we’d best drop them at once. Easy to say. I don’t claim to be Susy Homemaker, but I can let things slide for just so long before reaching critical mass and having what could be termed as a freakout.

I found myself looking at a giant pile of homework and shrieking “BUT I NEED TO DUST!” This might be a sign of the Apocalypse. Or it might be a sign of the end of the semester. Either way, it just isn’t something I would say while in my right mind.

Actually, nursing school reminds me of working the holiday season at Wen Chocolates. So much to do, so much to keep track of, great coworkers, and that temperamental, self-centered mistress Chocolate, who says “Do not trouble me with your schedule, puny mortal. I’ll go into temper when I’m ready, not before.”

That’s what I need. Some good chocolate. And Snow White’s little friends to clean the house while I study. It’s no use asking the cats.

[planqpoint3-blog]

WTF, brain?

Last night I was dreaming about taking an exam - it might have been pharmacology because my pharmacology professor was there.  Instead of the usual multiple-choice scantron, it was short answer and fill-in-the- blank.  It seemed to be going well until I reached the question "In which movie does Audrey Hepburn's character kiss someone on a bridge in the rain?"

Huh?  I looked up; all my classmates were finished with the test and gone.  The instructor looked at me and said "If you promise not to cheat, you can have all the time you need."

[pusheen]

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No Kitty! Bad Kitty! That's MY sterile field!

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So, even though I caught all of my mistakes I made too many to be considered safe with Foley catheter insertion. So, I have to retest on that skill, plus one other one in order to pass lab. "Don't think of it as failure. You just need more practice," said my instructors. "It happens to everyone at some point. You'll be fine." I sure hope they are right. I hate feeling incompetent. On the bright side, it wasn't my worst performance in a practical. There was that test in pastry school during which I put a paring knife through my hand. Compared to that, today wasn't so bad- nothing got hurt except my pride.

[thisblogdeadyeet]

Someone take me. Please. Anyone. I want to go now!

[weeburdoodles]

ALWAYS REBLOG SOCOTRA.

I love this place it’s amazing TAKE ME THERE.

[out-there-on-the-maroon]

Someone please film a movie there.

[harleygabs-deactivated20161011]

Obviously this is where all Dr. Seuss books take place.

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Wow. Just wow.  My next novel may have just found its setting.

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Trust me, I'm a nursing student

First of all, gratitude and respect to the nurses and patients at my clinical site for their patience, generosity, courage, and humor.  I gave my first insulin injection today - "Oh, no! A student!" said the patient. "She probably got the biggest, dullest needle in the place - oh, go on.  Just stab me, I know you want to."  So I did.  "I'm still alive! Good job, sweetie!"  

A bit later a nurse came and asked if two of us like to observe a wound vac dressing change.  Sure. Sounds cool.  When we got there, we found out that by 'observe', the RN meant 'do'.  So on our fourth day of clinicals, without having done anything more complicated that a sterile wet-to-moist dressing on a mannequin, my classmate and I did a complicated dressing change from start to finish on a ninety-year old man.  A man whose response to "Mr. S., these students are going to do your dressing change," was 'okey dokey'.   So we gather all the supplies, and the RN takes off the patient's cowboy hat, and underneath is a dressing that is slightly bigger than a yarmulke.   So we turn off the suction, gently pry up the thin tagaderm that holds the sponge dressing in place, and reveal something that looks quite a lot like this, just not as big.

Holy F*&k, I want to say.  RN says "Mr. S. had a tumor removed here.  As you can see, the site goes almost down to the scalp." Yes.  Yes, I can see that.  Wow.  

Then the RN talked us through sizing the foam, and applying the tagaderm and attaching the suction cup.  At this point, the patient's head is crowned with a big round piece of 1 1/2" thick foam covered in tagaderm with the long tail of the suction tube trailing down his back. The pump is turned on, and that fat piece of foam shrinks down flat, almost level with the scalp, and drainage starts going through the tube.  "Perfect," says the RN.  "What?" says Mr. S..  "I fell asleep."

[planqpoint3-blog]

What the test felt like

1. Long complicated thing involving patients, meds, and effects and stuff. A) something B) the opposite of something C) something completely different D) something I've never heard of E) Whiskey Tango Foxtrot ?

[no-pais-das-mas-ervilhas]

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One of my true selves

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From today's peri-op lecture :)

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Stitches, Staples, Nuts & Bolts

Today my preceptor delegated the removal of sutures to me. The patient is a retired nurse, who said encouraging things like "Don't worry, honey.  Any fool off the street can take out stitches." 

She was right.  No problems, no bleeding.  I felt so nurse-like.  Then my patient's roommate said "Come look at this if you thought her measly little stitches were fun!"  She pulled up the leg of her sweatpants and displayed a row of about thirty staples.  "Bet you wish these were ready to come out, don't you doll?", she said smiling.

I have to admit, she was right.  We just learned staple removal and steri-stripping yesterday; she'd be great practice.

I also got to do wound care around the posts of an external fixator - a torturous looking device that holds broken bones in place from the outside.     

On a completely different note, I noticed last time that one off the night nurses looked  familiar.  This morning I heard her giving report and recognized her voice.  "Is your name Chris? Did you work at HSJ in the early 90's?"

Yes, it was my old charge nurse.  Not only does she work at my clinical site, she's also an instructor for my school.  So, yeah. 

Okay. I've procrastinated long enough.  Back to pharmacology (test Friday) and lab skills ( final lab practical Tuesday).  How much reading have I done for tomorrow's lecture?  None.  Maybe I can squeeze some in on the train tomorrow. 

[xwinterland]

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Right there with you, kitteh.

[crystallinewordsmith-deactivate]

#sleepy #insomniac #bedtime

[planqpoint3-blog]

Indwelling Catheters; the home version

So we all got a catheter kit and some extra sterile gloves so that we could practice our technique outside of class.  No, we were not in any way encouraged to practice on family or friends. Eeew!  The lab instructor told us to use an empty bottle and something to keep it from rolling around while we practiced our sterile technique. It went something like this:

Set up 'patient'.  Remove cat.

Set up sterile field.  Remove a different cat. Start over.

Start inserting catheter into the 'patient'.  

See the 'string!' light go on in cat's eyes. 

Fight cat for catheter.  

Thank cat for injecting bacteria into the catheter.  Be glad that 'patient' is incapable of getting a UTI. 

Remove 'patient' to a different room.  Shut door.  Ignore whining of cat.

Set up sterile field....