Out-Rotation, The Operating Room, and Week 14

I tend to dread clinical weeks because I don't get much sleep, and I don't feel like I am performing at my very best because of it. However, this week was different due to being on "out-rotation." This means I was able to go different places in the hospital outside of the beloved Med/Surg unit, and I don't have to do research. So, it really means that I got to go to bed early while my friends were up till the wee hours of the morning stressing over paperwork! In out-rotation we all get to experience the operating room (OR) for one day, and then we had a choice of either Physical Therapy (PT) or Radiology. I chose PT because I thought it would be something I would use more as a nurse later down the road. Radiology would have been cool, but PT was just more practical in my mind.

Fellow nursing students told me they were bored in PT in previous weeks, so I began to worry that I'd made the wrong choice, but I had such a different experience than my friends! The physical therapists that I worked with were so eager to teach me what they do, and why they do it. They were all very positive, and encouraging. One of the therapists even thanked me for my help and told me I will be a good nurse... I was happy to see that my instructor was just a few feet away and heard the praise. It made me more confident that day.

The operating room was a totally different experience for me. Since I am just in my first semester, there is not really much hands on stuff I am allowed to do yet. In the OR, this means I can stand in the corner and watch... for 8 long cold hours! The temperature was about 60 degrees, and my back and legs are stiff from standing all day. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I could have scrubbed in and assisted. Of course, that would be completely out of my scope of practice at this point. My instructor even asked if my day was "blah" because that's what my body language was telling her! I said "yes, it was a very blah day!" I did get to see some neat surgeries, and the nurses were great and worked as a perfectly synchronized team. I just know that I am not called to be a surgical nurse.

I only have 4 weeks left in the semester, and I can't believe how fast it went. I have a paper on "medication error" due next week for one class, and then the entire group of nursing students will have a Critical Thinking Seminar Monday & Tuesday. I'm glad that Thursday will be Thanksgiving, because I know I will be thankful for that to all be over! The Critical Thinking Seminar will be interesting because we will be in groups to research patients, and then we will sit on a panel to field questions from our instructors. Basically it's a group project that we'll be individually tested on by oral exam. YIKES!

That's all I have for now. It's only 19:00 and I'm exhausted. I guess that could be since I woke up at 05:00 for my date with the OR?

The Need for Down Time

Last week was insane, and next week will be worse! My brain always feels completely fried when I have 3 tests within 2 days, then 2 days of clinical, and then work! Thankfully my husband had yesterday off for Veteran's Day. We packed a picnic, and headed to the beach! We spent the entire day playing Boggle, eating our picnic, and attempting to fly a kite (there wasn't any wind, but it was still fun to try).

Last May, during orientation, the director of the nursing program advised us to "budget time for fun." I did not take those words lightly. Even if I just stay in my PJs all day and watch TV, my brain is getting a rest. Everyone tells you how much time and work goes into nursing school, but I do not think anyone can truly understand what a toll it takes until they are actually in it! I am so ready for Christmas, and Summer is just around the corner, right?... RIGHT?!

Failure to...

Last week I had the pleasure of bringing my learning to the clinical setting (or hospital if you prefer). I was so excited to work with my patients. As a nursing student, the paperwork is grueling and seemingly never ending! Working in the hospital is terrifying yet comforting because your instructor is constantly watching you. Terrifying because you feel tested, and comforting to know that they won't let you do anything unsafe to your patient or yourself. I had done hours upon sleepless hours of research on all of the medications and diagnoses that pertained to my patient. It was the week of "med passing." Med passing is when we are allowed to pop the little pills out of their containers into a cup and tell the patient what we are giving them. Day 1 went by without a hitch. Day 2 was going great until... My instructor said to me "what can you tell me about what you just did when you gave those medications?" My patient had a couple questions about why she was taking certain pills. I answered her to the best of my ability and I thought that was what my instructor was referring to. Though, as my palms grew sweaty, I realized I had no idea why my instructor was asking me this question as she smiled and said "you forgot to check the name on her armband." I had that wave of fear (the one that sometimes makes you think you'll faint or vomit) wash over me from head to toe, but not for the reason you might think! I knew I had done my "3 checks" on the medication, and that I had also reviewed my "6 rights." Right drug, right dose, right route, right time, and I knew I'd do the right documentation, then it hit me "uh-oh" I forgot right patient when I walked in the room. Having been in the room earlier that morning, it totally skipped my mind to make sure she was the same lady I'd seen less than ten minutes ago! As I said before, our instructors are there to make sure we don't actually give the wrong medication to the wrong patient, but I ended up having to write a paper on why it's so important anyway. I am completely aware that administering the wrong medication can result in allergic reaction, or even go as far as to cause death, and I will not forget to check armbands again. What a bummer though, I was doing so good!!! I'm thankful for my instructor's watchfulness, and I will be that much more careful in the future! No more "failure to identify patient prior to medication administration."

I Guess the Beginning is a Good Place?

In November, 2000 I was attending a small Christian college in northern California as a Diversified Liberal Arts major when God woke me from a dead sleep and told me I would be a nurse! As much as I argued that I love working with children and I'm scared to death of needles, I realized there is only so much talking back that you can do with the Creator of the Universe before He inevitably wins. Needless to say, I left the school at the end of the semester, began pre-requisites to become an RN, and overcame my needle phobia.

Fast forward to today... Saturday, November 7th, 2009. I am only a few weeks away from completing my first semester of the nursing program at my local community college. The program is 2 years, but I like to think of it as "four, 4 month installments (A.K.A. 4 semesters)" of intense education. Yes, it has been 9 years since God called me to nursing, and I know that He had me wait 9 years for a reason! I tried running away from His goals, I tried to move things in my time, but all along He has been in control, and I must say that I am grateful.

I started this blog today, because Tuesday was the first time in the last 9 years that I seriously considered quiting. Through the exhaustion and the stress, I wiped tears from my eyes as my husband gently reminded me "it's just another day, and we will get through this!" He told me that I should start writing about my experiences so that I can look back on weeks like this last one, and remember that I survived... it is another day to check off on the countdown of achieving the goals the Lord laid out for me, and the end result that I have grown to love and crave!

So, here I am. I am writing about my experiences, my struggles, and my progress. You might ask why I am blogging instead of keeping a private handwritten journal? Well, I keep one of those too, but I know there are other people either in my position or wanting to be in my position that I might either help or learn from! This will be my story of going from SN to RN in 16 months!