Almost done...

I made it through my most difficult nursing class, however, I did not make the grade that I wanted it. She is a great teacher and I learned a lot but her tests were the most ridiculous things I have ever taken in my entire life and some questions on her test made me think "where did that come from?". So my grade declined because of these crazy tests that I spent many hours studying for and many hours crying after because of my grade.

Clinicals are going well. I finished my last day of med/surg. YAHOO! I do not like taking care of older people. I want to work in pediatrics or neonatal. For my last three clinicals I get to go to State Hospital South in Blackfoot, which is a Psych hospital. I am a little scared. People with these kind of mental issues give me the heebee jeebees.

Only 2.5 weeks to go till the end of the semester
Only 9 more test to go.
Then I will no longer be a freshmen
I will be a Sophomore

AH...

It has almost been a month since I last wrote. Holy cow! Just so you know this post is going to be very jumpy. I am going to change from one subject to the other.

School is going well, I am offically done with one nursing class. I took the final today and actually got a decent grade. I was very very happy.

Now this is the teacher that has been causing every one grief with her tests. I swear no matter how hard I study for them and even if I memorized the power points word for word, I still wouldn't do well. and it frustrated me so much, so with much sadness I will be recieveing my first B+ in my entire life. :(

I have one last 5th floor clinical for this semester! I am so excited! I do not like 5th floor really at all. Mostly it is filled with old old sick people. I am not to fond of old old sick people. I would rather work on pediatrics or even with people more my age, not these 70+ year olds. After I am finished with this rotation I get to go to a Psych hospital. (not looking forward to this) perhaps because I have been tainted with all the media telling me these people are... well there isn't a word for it really. I am concerned...

Scenario is on friday! AH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so very happy for Thanksgiving. I get to see my family. Then after that there is only 3 more weeks of school and then I am home for 3 weeks with no homework! YIPEE. I am so very sick of homework and tests. I take more tests in a week than most people take for one class over the whole semester.

My life is crazy!

Long time...

Hey so it has been a couple of weeks since I last wrote... sorry about that.

Skills day:
So I participated in skills day on the 8 of October. I was hoping to get NG tube insertion, foley catheter insertion, something like that but not IV fluid stuff. Well guess which one I got. IV fluids. Now this skill isn't difficult at all, but I however, recived a not so great score because I forgot one thing... a right. In nursing we do this thing called the 5 rights: right patient, route, time, amout, and med. This 5 rights is supposed to be 3 times. I did the first two outside the room but I forgot to do the 3rd check, so I was docked big time (even though the patient wouldn't have gotten the wrong fluids). Ticks me off just a little bit!

So the whole skill goes like this: I walk into the room, introduce myself, check their name band, and wash my hands. Second I tell the patient that IV fluids are ordered, so I check the EMAR or MAR (medication administration record) against their wristband to make sure it matches, then I check the meds against it. If all are correct I can continue. Next thing I would do is to check the IV saline lock (which is just a fancy name for an IV line in the arm/hand that doesn't have fluids attached). I would flush the line to check for patency. I would then get my fluids and prime my tubing. (priming is filing the lines with the solution). If everything we well I would then attach the fluids to the IV in the hand/arm.

Now that skill doesn't seem difficult now does it, but let me tell you it gets a whole lot harder when a person in a white coat is watches, when you know you are being graded and when it is timed. I just got so flustered that I forgot one thing and it was killer on my grade. Grrr....

OR:
The OR is awesome!!!!I quite enjoy it.
I have had the opportunity to watch hernia repairs, cholecystectomys, appendix removal, hysterectomies with bilateral salipingoopherectomy(ovaries and tubes removed). Awesome! I also had the opportunity to scrub in and help with one the hysterectomies. The one down side to OR is that my back tends to hurt a lot.

Another thing that interests me is being a Nurse Anesthetist. I find that being anesthetist would be a good job. I wouldn't mind being that, however, it is a lot more schooling.

School:
School is going well, most of the classes aren't too hard. I am pulling decent grades. I may not receive all A's this semester. The one class has some of the most ridiculous tests I could go insane. I learn a lot in her class but her tests really don't have much to do with what we learned.

Still no man in my life... no like I time for one anyway.

Resource Nurse...

The hospital that I do my clinicals at has a Resource Nurse, and this nurse has more training than the average nurse, they are basically just go from floor to floor checking to see if anyone needs any help and I got to spend the day with him.

We started off the day checking every floor to make sure things we going as expected for 0730 in the morning. We were in the ICU when the Code Blue rang out and guess what.... the resource nurse goes to code blues. So off we rushed down to the ER. Now a resource nurse does whatever is needed when a code is called (ie. start lines, chest compressions, give meds...) and because he had me with him, I was able to participate in the code. I performed chest compression on the man. Holy cow! that makes a person really tired really fast. I felt such a rush of adrenline. It was intense. However, once it was over I was shaking so bad. I couldn't believe that I just experienced a code. I just helped save a life. Then another man came into the ER and a code was called (I didn't do anything there). After that man was stable enough we moved him up to the ICU where the MD was going to put a central line in. When all of the sudden he coded again. Everyone rushed in and he was back.

So in summary I was able to participate in 1 code and witness 2 others. WOW! all these codes happened before 1000. So my day was packed full of excitment. However, I am not sure if I could do that day after day. Guess it's a good thing that I want to be a NICU nurse and not an ER nurse.

P.S. I am really sore from doing those compression. Yes I may be a little out of shape, but that man was huge and I had to push down far and really hard.

Oh the things...

Hey! Don't worry I am still alive (barely).

I think that teachers think that their class is the only thing we students have the whole semester, so they just pile on all the homework. Read this, read that, take this quiz, then go take this test. It just goes on and on and on. It's never going to end!

Ah thank you for reading all my venting. I feel much better now.

Clinical are going great. Sometimes I wish I didn't have two in a week, but the more time I spend actually practicing my skills the better nurse I will be when I actually graduate. EIRMC isn't as bad as I expected. Things just run a little differently, especially the computer system which, in my opinion, was written by a robot. Using the mouse isn't really an option, I have to use all the F function buttons, and it only likes to read capital letters for some odd reason. I also have two different clincial instructors, one for Monday and the other for Friday. I like Friday's instructor better. I have been told I need to practice my documentation more. I need to right in more detail and leave out certain words that really don't need to be in there. If I can get that down, hopefully I can get a decent clincal grade.

Still no man in my life. Apparently I look to well put together. I know my major and I am going for it. These factors seem to repel men. I was told this in high school and I was told this the other day by my roommate.

P.S. If you have any questions about nursing things feel free to leave me a comment and I will answer to the best of my knowledge. (which means I will mostly likely go look it up in a book).

IV's...

I can officially do IV's on a person now. Yahoo!!!

There are many steps to inserting an IV and it is a lot harder then it actually looks. When I get to do this in a clinical setting I only get one chance, then the real nurse will take over. (unless my patient will let me try again).

Step 1: Gather all the supplies. (IV pump, IV fluid, Insertion kit, tape, j-loop, gauze, alcohol wipes, and a saline flush.

Step 2: Enter patients room

Step 3: Wash hands

Step 4: Introduce Self

Step 5: Identify the patient

Step 6: Inform patient what you are doing to them. Especially tell them that a needle really isn't left inside their arm, it's a little catheter.

Step 7: Select the proper site (usually the non-dominant hand)

Step 8: Place the tourniquet on the arm and palpate for a vein. Once the vein is found RELEASE THE TOURNIQUET!!!

Step 9: Make sure that all the supplies are ready. (ie... saline flush is attached to the j-loop, tape is ready.. things like that)

Step 10: Gloves on

Step 11: Apply the tourniquet again

Step 12: Clean the site with cholorahexidine or alcohol wipes. Wait for it to dry.

Step 13: Warn the patient that a stick is going to come, pull the skin taut and stick the patient with the needle bevel side up. Go in at and angle (slight angle) and then make the needle parallel to the skin. Insert until blood return and then insert 1/4 of an inch more.

Step 14: Push the catheter in while pulling the needle out (not all the way though or blood will come spewing out).

Step 15: RELEASE THE TOURNIQUET!

Step 16: Apply firm pressure above the insertion site to stop blood flow while needle is pulled out.

Step 17: Attach the j-loop to catheter. (release pressure above insertion site)

Step 18: Flush the IV and attach the actual IV line to it.

Step 19: Apply the occlusive dressing and tape it all down.

Step 20: Remove gloves and ask patient how the IV feels.

After clean up all supplies and document.

And that folks is the first official thing I have learned this semester.

School...

School has officially started.

Now if you saw my schedule this semester, you would be like "how cow, how in the world does she have any time to do anything?" My answer would be that I really don't have a lot of time to do things. Now for the dreaded schedule:

Monday
-0600 to 1300 Clinical
Tuesday
- 0900 to 1045 Nursing 104
- 1130 to 1230 Family Foundations
- 1245 to 1345 Middle East
- 1515 to 1645 Child Development
Wednesday- Absolutely nothing. (except on the occasion we do something or I go to the dialysis center)
Thursday
- 0730 to 0845 Nursing 103
- 0900 to 1045 Nursing 104
- 1130 to 1230 Family Foundations
- 1245 to 1345 Middle East
- 1515 to 1645 Child Development
Friday
- 0600 to 1300 Clinical

HOLY COW!!!