RN2B...er RN!

Happy New Year to all!

T'was the week before Christmas, and all through the floor,
The Lasix was filling the Foleys galore.
Stockings were worn to prevent emboli.
They came in two styles: knee- and thigh-high.

The patients were nestled half-assed in their beds,
While visions of stool softeners danced in their heads.
We in our scrubs, and they in their gowns -
Fashions created to hide extra pounds.

When down in the E.R. it became such a zoo.
They called for admissions for me and for you.
They're coming, they're going, they're looking the same.
My patience for patients is starting to wane.

Now call lights are ringing, the patient expounds
"I have not had my peri-care, please send someone down."
So now delegation seems like a good plan.
We pass on to others the needs of this man.

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear
But Santa himself and 8 tiny reindeer.
He states that he came in from Central Supply
To bring us LR, NS, and D5.

The doctors then scribbled what no one could read.
Orders for patients, to measure their pee.
We try to decipher illegible words.
Orders for patients, to guiac their turds.

The new shift arriving, our day is now through.
How'd the stool and the emesis get in my shoe?
We give them report and pass on the facts,
And tell them of Duoderm lining the cracks.

And the Nurses exclaimed as they drove out of sight,
"Ambien to all! And to all a good night!"

Hope Santa brought you all you wanted!...Zoe got sparkley pipecleaners and Bear got wrapping paper bits... the other 2 were still sleeping! Lazy bums!

The semester is over, got through the OSCEs in one peice (barely!) and I am now ready to sleep in, relax and strart revising notes for next semester (yes yes I know, I am on vacation). I have made it through yet another semester and still cannot believe that I have made it half-way through nursing school.

WOW!

1. Schizophrenia -- Do You Hear What I Hear?
2. Multiple Personality Disorder -- We Three Kings Disoriented Are
3. Dementia -- I Think I'll be Home for Christmas
4. Narcissistic -- Hark the Herald Angels Sing About Me
5. Manic -- Deck the Halls and Walls and House and Lawn and Streets and Stores and Office and Town and Cars and Buses and Trucks and Trees and.....
6. Paranoid -- Santa Claus is Coming to Town to Get Me
7. Borderline Personality Disorder -- Thoughts of Roasting on an Open Fire
8. Personality Disorder -- You Better Watch Out, I'm Gonna Cry, I'm Gonna Pout, Maybe I'll Tell You Why
9. Attention Deficit Disorder -- Silent night, Holy oooh look at the Froggy - can I have a chocolate, why is France so far away?
10. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder -- Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle
Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle,Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle
Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle
Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle
Bells...

A quick post about me as a bridesmaid for my good friend Irene this past weekend!

It was great! I had a blast and am glad that I was able to go. It was in the USA (Salem, Mass.). A really cute place to visit btw.

OSCE, aka: OMG, just let me pass!

Last day is tomorrow, we have OSCEs, 6 of them then I have a month off. YAY! In the meantime the stress is high and we are all stressed out. To make matters worse, my hip hurts, my BP is in the toilet (too low), my pulse is tachycardic (great) and my neuro wants me to do a sleep study (among other thinsg) and all I want to do right now is crawl under a rock and HIDE. I am just so fed up with school and need a break so badly. I am afraid of failing the semester (about 1/2 of us are in the same boat, so at least I am not alone). I have to do well on the OSCE if I don't want crap grades this semester.

You may wonder, What is an OSCE? It stands for "Objective Structured Clinical Examination". Basically they give you a scenario and you have to act it out, describing what you are doing and why. Talk it out and do the necessary skills. That's how you get the points. Scary shit at times. So far I have always managed a good grade, but this term we have 6 of them for our final and we're not entirely sure what they will ask us! We have to do it in uniform too... odd.

So any of you out there reading this, cross your fingers for me and wish me luck!

I got this off another nurse's blog...
#10 is especially pertinent to me and my classmates at the moment...

It's time...to impart wisdomses!
1. If you tell a resident that you'll take care of bowel management for them, not only will he or she sign anything you write, s/he'll love you forever.

2. Don't call at 0300 for a sleeping pill for a patient.

3. White is a magnet for ook of all sorts.

4. Your favorite clogs have just been discontinued, and your favorite pen is about to run out of ink.

5. The cutest bartender is always taken.

6. There is no substitute for dental floss.

7. The volume of ook that will splatter on you is directly proportionate to how much you like the scrubs you're wearing.

8. The doctor who yells at you is actually trying to make up for the size of his or her genitalia. Don't let it rattle you.

8a. Remember that you can go home at seven; they're on call. Smile.

9. The word "pomegranate" never looks like you've spelled it right.

10. If you're a student, don't fret: you'll never use care plans again.

Woohoo! The first snow of the season, well first real snow!

These words are not what you usually use to describe nurses are they? Well, the home care nurse my mother had over the weekend was exactly that! I cannot believe how bad she was!!! She is not young and fresh out of school either, we are talking about a woman who is in her 60's at least and has been at this for awhile. For that matter I found out that she has been at this for 40 years and has worked at 2 different hospitals...

We had problems with my mom's PICC line and I called the CLSC to tell them what we needed, we were reassured that the nurse coming to the house would have all she needed... well she came and HAD NO IDEA what to do! She looked tha the PICC line as if it was the first time she had seen one and wondered why they would send my mom home with it! OMG! I had to bite my tongue and not react, I was so mad. At least she had the foresight to bring along another nurse later on who knew what to do. She was younger and was more personable and spoke to me like I had a brain and not like I was an ignorant 12 year old.

Strange huh? (considering her experience).

Hope we don't get her again!

Well, paeds has drawn to a close, darnit!

I enjoyed it, would've liked it more if I had had more than 3 weeks in the hospital... this community placement sucks rocks for the most part, though it was less work I suppose.

I am starting to panic, have 3 assigments due Monday, a Bio test Monday, a teaching & learning presentation due Thursday, and a nursing test Friday. Then Friday AFTER the test I have to get my ass to Salem, Mass. for a wedding (I am a bridesmaid). Then the following Tuesday I have the Bio final Exam (and when am I studying for that???) and then Friday the nusring final OSCEs (oh joy!).

Have I mentioned I am freaking out?

Oh ya, and trying to get an actual accurate reading of a blood pressure on a baby is damn near impossible! (3 of us tried, 2 of "us" being actual RN) and I got it first, after 3 tries! oye...

OK, cool clinical for me, YAY!
I had a 20 day old baby boy, in for rule out sepsis and possible meningitis. The MD asked for us to do an NPA (naso-pharyngeal aspiration) and my co-assigned RN let me do it! I was with my clinical instructor and 2 classmates and man was I nervous! BUT did not let it show... as both parents were there. It was the first time I was doing this procedure on a live person, let alone a baby!
Managed to do it without incident and we got the sample and sent it to the lab. No idea what the results are though as we had to leave.. hope the little guy is ok.
Can't wait to do more skills like that.



"Nasopharyngeal Aspiration for Respiratory Virus or Bacterial Testing

Requires a suction mechanism (syringe, vacuum pump or wall suction), a specimen trap and catheter.

Insert catheter nasally into posterior nasopharynx.
Apply suction as catheter is slowly withdrawn. Do not leave sample in tubing.
If sample has been aspirated into a syringe seal the end of the aspiration tube and send specimen in syringe
or wash aspirate through tubing or trap with:
• 3mL of virus transport medium if for viral diagnosis only
• 3mL of sterile saline for microbiology culture/sensitivities and or viruses
Place sample in transport medium into sterile transport vial.
Ensure that the top of the vial is screwed on securely.
Label with patient name, date of birth, sample type and date of collection."

OK, went to Starbucks and bought a Grande Pepermint Mocha, then proceeded to walk home with it... ended up with some on my pants!
Damn I can't walk and drink coffee at the same time.. wonder if I can still walk and chew gum at the same time!

Well, I started my peds rotation this past Friday. I am at the Montreal Children's Hospital. Nice place, large though... long halls and I tend to get lost easily, but not as badly as when I was at the Royal Victoria last year. I was really hoping to be at the Shriner's Hospital, but hey, I am finally in peds and that is what I wanted!

The floor we are on is a real mix of cases, a medical floor. We even have one long term patient there, nice kid, lives there as he is on a vent. His room is decked out in posters/desk/computer... He goes to school in the mornings usually then comes back around 12:30-1ish. I've actually known him for nearly 18 months, as we used to take transport at the same time.

We had fun the first day on the ward. We started the day by touring the hospital and then on the ward we went on a "treasure" hunt of sorts. We were each given a scenario and had to then seek out the material and procedure info we needed in order to do it. It's fun riffling through drawers/cabinets. We then got to play with an IV pump and tubing. Everwhere we go the pump are all different so it was nice to be able to learn how to program one and trouble shoot BEFORE you actually encounter the problem on a patient.

My teacher is a doll. I love her, she is cool and fun and nice and very approachable! And she has a neat scottish accent.

My one bad aspect of this first day was that we spent from 7:30AM to 2PM walking/standing with very little break time where I could actually sit, so at the end of our conference I very nearly passed out! I felt my BP drop and I nearly dropped too. Sat down and my teacher stayed with me. I was slightly embarassed and really didn't want my teacher to see that the first day, but it gave us a chance to talk and for her to get to know me and my "needs" (ie: sit down a bit more often!).

All in all it was a good first day, I may even end up working in peds!

I passed my Obs rotation so now it is official, I never have to do it again!!! (knock on wood, I have to pass this term!)
I am now waiting to get my biology test grade...

I start pediatrics tomorrow, we have 2 labs then we are in the hospital/community.

YAY!

It's over! No more OBS! YAY!

YAY, postpartum/Obs rotation is finally over this week. 2 clinicals left and I am done with it (today and tomorrow)...

Yet another school shooting in the US. The 3rd in a week for the US... it's just too much. When will this type of thing stop?
This time at an Amish school.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/10/02/amish.shooting/index.html

and possibly another near school shooting.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/10/02/lasvegas.schools.ap/index.html

one word: "WHY?"