Ramblings

Knock Knock

"Hi, I am Tiffany"
"I am going to be your student nurse today"
(worried patient now eyeballs the door)

"No, don't you worry..."
"I am going to take great care of you!"

I have been told that "practice doesn't make you perfect in the world of nursing, but it does make you confident." That is what is all about ladies and gentleman, confidence. Good thing I have enough of it to go around, or at the least I know how to fake it very well.

Alright really, I love that I am lucky enough have a place I can go to get the extra practice I need. And even more thankful that I know some coworkers who wouldn't mind having an extra day off this weekend. Yes, I am really calling and begging to take your shift on Saturday, so go and enjoy your unexpected day off already!

This coming Tuesday we have a practicum exam, which is a little more serious then the skills check off we did two weeks ago. Half of it I am comfortable doing as I have done it countless times before as a nurse's aide; however, the other half is now starting into things that only RN's can do. Well, I haven't ever been an RN before so I NEED all the practice I can get to help gain some insight. (Hence why I volunteer to work on weekends!) I am really thankful that I work with some wonderful nurses, that if time permitting, don't mind if I follow them around like a puppy dog starring over their shoulder. If I am really lucky there will be some new admits so I can see the skill I really need to be reviewing this week...Head to Toe assessment.

Alright better get back to the books, I have a million and one things vying for my attention this week to come and no clue where to even start. Hope you all have a great stress free weekend.

Simulation

Wow, am I bad at this blog thing. In fairness there is nothing really interesting to talk about as of yet.

One more month and we will get out of the lab and away from simulations to our "hands dirty" in the hospital! Today I had my first simulation lab. Basically, machines (as opposed to other nursing students) are our patients but they can talk and can do all the things to them you would do to a normal patient with diagnostic testing, medications, etc. We even have one simulator gives birth to a machine baby, but that will be a topic for OB/Pediatrics class. Our Sims instructor mentioned how she doesn't like to be at the school after dark, as the machines become really creepy. Honestly, I was totally freaked out when our "patient" just started this loud heavy breathing, it sounded just like the bad guy from every cheap horror movie created. With the bad comes the good, this is a beneficial tool to learn how not to kill someone. There is no reset button in the hospital.

The test grades came out online this morning and I did about how well I expected I would, but something seemed off. Pretty much the entire class complained how they thought they did better than the scores reflected. So now we are going to re-review them tomorrow. Possibly, we will find the error in the scantron and 90% of our grades will improve from the grade book version. In the theory portion of this week we are trucking right along. Today started the Pharmacology; very soon we will be passing medications and giving shots!

Therory Test One

Funny, when I was in the military and taking a promotion exam, we used to joke that when you get stuck on a question 'C' your way out. Of course not a fool proof plan but any answer is better than leaving a blank, right? So imagine my dismay when taking my first Intro test, answer after answer kept coming up with the infamous 'C'. Must be a mistake right? Pondering that question had me re-reviewing my test three times, burning up a good 45 minutes of time. Statistically it didn't make sense that so many answers would wind up similar in a row, the instructor had to be messing with us right?

Oh well, time was running out of time so I stuck with my first instinct, which turned out to work in my favor. As we waited for everyone to finish up, all the discussion was about the statistical anomaly and how "Christmas treeing it, wouldn't have cut it!" While we did get to overlook the answers briefly, I don't know for sure how I did on the exam. I will find out grade book results next week. But I know I passed it! So with that I take a deep breath, let out a grateful sigh of relief, and now I must prepare to move on to the next hurtle....Chemistry test on Monday!

KISS

No I don't want one; nor, do I think you would want a germ infested one from me. I am referring to the mnemonic aide KISS
It is so easy to over think the situations that we are being presented with in our simulations. I know it's hard to believe; but yes, sometimes the answer is the obvious! ABC's, Safety, and check for a doctor's order...seems easy enough. Well, that is until you have an RN firing questions at you, 29 pairs of eyes critiquing every your every move, and still have to maintain enough composure to complete the skill you set out to master in the first place. (Of course you must be able to do everything without becoming a babbling fool.) Short, direct, to the point answers just might convince people that you actually know what you are talking about. Sorry for this rant, but I think I needed it, if only for a reference point to utilize later. I do have my first theory test this week after all.

Well, with the conclusion of a very long lab day, I have been deemed "safe" and allowed to practice the skills that I signed off on today on real people! Yes, I did over think everything and I am pretty sure I missed a step or two along the way but I maintained patient safety and privacy. I suppose in the end that is what matters most for now.

Location Location Location

If you haven't already, I believe now is a good time to invest in Starbucks. Call it an inside tip, but their stock is about to rise big time. My study group decided to start meeting there. Because I lack self control, some much some needed sleep, and I cant seem to locate anywhere that currently sells it in intravenous form, I predict I will down cup after hot delicious cup of this black gold!

Study group at Starbucks? Are you kidding me? I have very few vices I haven't managed to gain an upper hand on yet, one being coffee and the other bookstores. I can't seem to EVER walk out of a book store empty handed, regardless of the fact I know I don't have any time left to enjoy a non nursing related book. But we are going to study at a Starbucks inside Barns and Noble? Ha ha ha, yeah right!

A quick perusal around the shelves and a Venti cup later, I was ready to devote my attention to postural abnormalities, antihyperensive medications, range of motion, or what ever the topic was going to be first. It went pretty well, eventually you can tune out the distractions. I do however pity the innocent people sitting near enough to hear our conversation...I am really really sorry, I am sure you didn't want to hear what an infected wound looks like while enjoying your coffee.

So this afternoon I have discovered my fate for the next year... coffee and books. A quick look around at the other tables and I begin to recognize some faces, or at least the covers of the books that the faces are buried behind...other nursing students in the semesters before ours. Maybe I will find a way to ingest my coffee it in IV form before the semester is out after all.

Important lessons

So my time management skills are a little less then desirable, sad that it has taken all these years to figure this out. Yes I have always gotten tasks done on time, but pushing them to last moment just doesn't work in the way they did in previous class. I have my first set of skills to check of on Tuesday and my first theory test on Thursday. Properly didn't devote as much time as I should have to studying, but figured I would have a nice, kid-free, three day weekend to fully devote my brain...

KARMA!

Ricky woke up with a fever yesterday morning, and has been a have to sit right on top of mommy and give me all your attention mess since then. Don't get me wrong I do love all the hugs and kisses, but the effects of stress are slowly creeping up. Thankfully I don't look like this cartoon depiction of stressed out nurse yet... but I do feel an eye twitch coming on.

Until yesterday I believe I was a little over confident, I thought I had the 12 skills I signing off on are in the bag. After all, with the exception of charting I have been "practicing" for this day ever since I started working as a CNA over a year ago. While I haven't counted I have properly given over 1000 bed baths and I won’t even estimate how many transfers I have done. Yet somewhere somehow the negativity crept in, yes I know how to do it, but do I know the "nursing way"? There it is, the question that has me pouring over my books until the pre-dawn hours of the night. Guess I need to stop thinking.

As for the theory test, I think I have resolved to the fact I just might not pass it. Let’s put it this way: Thursday evening I attended a 3 1/2 hour workshop on critical thinking and test taking strategies, designed specifically for first term nursing students. Friday afternoon in class the instructor is telling us about her policy to meet with students if they don't score an 80% or above on the second test; "I don't worry about the first one as much, no one really passes it!" NICE! Of course I am not going just take it, as I am not one to give up to easily and I have a GPA to maintain, but I guess I won’t be too hard on myself if the inevitable does happen.

Ricky is giving me I am going to puke on you and your laptop if you don't pay attention to me now face, so I am signing off. Will try to update again with the results soon....

So I survived day one

Just for future reference triple check the time you need to be somewhere if it is that important! So, I am sitting at a red light on my way towards the schools direction when I decided to check my schedule. Yeah, not the brightest of times to do so... It was 12:48, funny it said my class starts at 1300. I swore the thing said 1330 yesterday. That’s not even the best part; the kids were still in the car!

So yes, I was late to the first day of class (way to place a target on my head from the get go.) I fully expected to get tossed from class but thanks to my lead foot I ran in there huffing and puffing just right at the five minute cut off. Things will be much easier once the kiddos start full time daycare on Monday but still.

Okay back to the class. Not much fun today, just the typical go over the syllabus, rules, expectations….fun fun fun. Again we heard the warning that there will be no social life for the next 17 months. No biggie I lost mine four years ago, I have learned to cope. Tomorrow we will be “hitting the ground running” covering medical asepsis and infection control.

Oh, one highlight of the day we chose which hospital we wanted to do our clinicals at, I did get my first choice. I know for a fact there is a Starbucks in this hospital.

Just a few days away

New uniforms with shoes… $89
New stethoscope… $105
A semesters worth of books… $724
Feeling like you are actually ready for Nursing school…Priceless

While I may have all the required items, the required reading mostly done, and even a jump start on some of the assignments for this first week that priceless feeling is quickly replaced by the “what the heck did you get yourself into now feeling.” Is there any way to actually feel ready for what will be the greatest challenge of my life?

It’s a good thing I like a challenge! Watch out nursing school (and future patients in my clinical rounds)…here I come.