girl in greenwood

weekend

noreply@blogger.com (girl_in_greenwood) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 04:36:00 +0000

Since Meeegan asked - I am working tomorrow (Saturday) for 12 hours. I'm off on Sunday, though!

I forgot one thing on my list of stuff I've learned so far - working as a nurse is excellent for dieting if you can avoid the junk food in the staff lounge. I barely have time to sit and eat my lunch - and I'm not even up to a full patient load yet. Also, I'm down 10 pounds since taking the NCLEX. Just 20 more to go to get back to my pre-nursing school weight. It's like I was pregnant for two years, or something.

Tomorrow I'll be moved up to taking two patients. I handled one today pretty much independently and it went well. So I hope I don't have a meltdown with two tomorrow!

so far

noreply@blogger.com (girl_in_greenwood) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 18:25:00 +0000

I've worked on the floor at BCH for 5 shifts and here are a few things I've learned so far:

1) There is a device for cleaning out gnarly wounds called a waterpick. I did not know such a thing even existed before last week.

2) Fentanyl lollipops (excuse me, transmucosal delivery systems) don't look like lollipops at all. They look like an instrument that is the perfect size to shove into a nostril, actually.

3) If you are a morbidly obese diabetic man, you may want to look into personal hygiene, before you develop an infection where the sun doesn't shine. Holy crap, I've never seen wounds like that before.

4) Apparently having a rectal tube (excuse me, fecal continence management system) installed feels like "having a Ho-Ho shoved up [your] butt". Or so my patient informed me.

5) If you inject heroin into your subclavian veins, Very Bad Things can happen. If that's not quite enough information for you, google necrotizing fasciitis. See? Very bad.

6) Working 2 12-hour shifts on consecutive days makes my hips ache by the end of the second day. But with support socks at least my feet don't hurt.

7) I really need to work on my time-management skills.

8) I probably need to make myself a more structured brain sheet/to-do list if I'm going to not forget stuff.

worker bee

noreply@blogger.com (girl_in_greenwood) — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 06:00:00 +0000

Hello Internet, I have not visited with you in quite a while!

My biggest news is that I started my new job as an RN at Big County Hospital (BCH from here on out). I had 5 8-hour days of classroom orientation the first week, which was shockingly exhausting. My brain felt swollen from acquiring so much information at such a rapid pace. The next week I had an all-day computer training which was excruciating - then I started out on the floor with my preceptor.

This is a little confusing to explain, but I am not training on the unit where I will eventually be working. I was pretty upset about that when I found out, but after I met my preceptor and got started, I was no longer upset. My preceptor is AWESOME. She's been a nurse for a long time, she's smart and funny and encouraging and kind - exactly the kind of nurse I aspire to be. She's been giving me both positive feedback and constructive criticism, which I really appreciate.

So working at BCH is pretty different from working at the Nonprofit Community Hospital. I have seen some shocking, shocking wounds, and I've only been at work for 4 days. Happily I turned out to be interested in gnarly wounds, and not the kind of person who passes out at the sight.

Okay. Another 12 hour shift tomorrow, so off to bed with me.

decorator slugs

noreply@blogger.com (girl_in_greenwood) — Tue, 20 May 2008 17:10:00 +0000

Look at these sea slugs from National Geographic. They're beautiful! You could use some of them as inspiration for interior decorating.

hempy*

noreply@blogger.com (girl_in_greenwood) — Fri, 09 May 2008 17:43:00 +0000

Top 50 'Sesame Street' Moments

Too much fun!

*the way I pronounced Sesame when I was 2

manipulative

noreply@blogger.com (girl_in_greenwood) — Thu, 08 May 2008 17:45:00 +0000

Ooh, interesting. One thing we talked about a lot in school is that labeling your patients as "drug-seeking" or "lazy" or what-have-you affects not only the care you provide, but the care that those around you think is appropriate to provide as well. "Manipulative" is one of those words, but I hadn't really thought about it before. Honestly, I had thought that some patients are in fact manipulative, so why not call a spade a spade?

Then I read this piece from Maria. Here's a quote:

"Consider striking the word “manipulative” from your vocabulary. Just describe what people are doing. “She says that she will kill herself if I don’t give her Vicodin” is a lot more informative than “She’s manipulative”. Furthermore, brainstorming ideas and conferring with others (including the patient) to solve this dilemma is much easier when everyone knows the specific details of the dilemma. How does one solve a problem around an adjective?"

Aha! Of course. You can't make a measureable outcome in the care plan for manipulation. :)

RN!

noreply@blogger.com (girl_in_greenwood) — Thu, 01 May 2008 20:49:00 +0000

I passed the damn test!

I did that.

noreply@blogger.com (girl_in_greenwood) — Thu, 01 May 2008 00:04:00 +0000

Took the NCLEX today. It shut off at 75 questions, which is the minimum. I think I feel okay about it. I won't know my results for a couple of days. Stay tuned!

Afterwards, I went for burgers and beers with two classmates, then we went over to classmate E*'s house and drank beer and watched a movie, until more classmates arrived and we gave up on the movie and gossiped instead. It was fun.

still here

noreply@blogger.com (girl_in_greenwood) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 06:13:00 +0000

Still here. Still studying. One week to go.

I know of 5 classmates who have passed so far. There are 3 more who have taken the test but haven't gotten results yet.

I really can't think about anything else. Sorry to be boring.

Yoga Today

noreply@blogger.com (girl_in_greenwood) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 19:19:00 +0000

Yoga Today

I did not even know this site existed! They post new approximately hour-long yoga videos for free. Just click on 'em and do your practice. Very cool.

wow

noreply@blogger.com (girl_in_greenwood) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 16:48:00 +0000

This is a collection of science-related tattoos. Awesome!!!!

Now I'm wondering if my dad will get some phospholipids tattooed on his arm or something...

study

noreply@blogger.com (girl_in_greenwood) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 06:05:00 +0000

It has begun: the studying for the NCLEX. I took inventory of myself and my study habits, and then picked up the phone and called two my favorite, most focused classmates and asked them to study with me. R* and E* are both going to be my coworkers on the same unit at Big County Hospital and we will be going through orientation together as well. We conferred on which review books we had and how we should tackle this huge body of knowledge, and yesterday we started. Today we continued with an extra bonus classmate C*. So far we've gotten through 8 chapters of the Kaplan review book and have repeatedly exclaimed "why didn't they tell us this in school??" We also learned that Maslow's hierarchy allegedly contains sex on the most basic level, right next to food, water, oxygen, and protection from extremes in temperature. This led to amusing conversation about how we've never seen any doctor's orders written for sexual interventions, and how if sex really is a basic need, as a group of stressed-out nursing students with long-suffering spouses, we may all be clinically dead.

Then since my brain wasn't quite full enough, classmate R* went home and classmates M* and D* showed up and we played RNtertainment for quite a while. There was much moaning and bitching about how the questions from the game wouldn't be on the NCLEX itself, but I wrote down 5 or 6 items to look up because I couldn't remember a single thing about them. Electromyography? Anyone? Anyone? Yeah, me neither.

And THEN, because I wasn't exhausted enough from using my brain for 8 hours, I went downstairs and worked out and then showered and cooked a healthy dinner and now I really wish someone would rub my back and hand me a chocolate chip cookie.

On that note, I spent the last 8 days watching everything I put in my face, working out more than I have in the last three months combined, logging all my food into Weight Watchers... and I got on the scale yesterday morning and there was no. change. at. all. Gahhhhhhhh. But hey, my body feels pretty good, so I guess I'll just keep at it.

test ahoy

noreply@blogger.com (girl_in_greenwood) — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:42:00 +0000

I scheduled my NCLEX-RN exam today. I will be taking it on April 30. Now I kind of feel like peeing my pants in terror... not so much because tests are scary to me, but because it means I have a hard date that I cannot procrastinate about.

ALL DONE

noreply@blogger.com (girl_in_greenwood) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 14:51:00 +0000

And that is that!

I graduated on Thursday. It was the strangest feeling. Possibly because I got drunker than I have ever been in my LIFE on Wednesday with my classmates. I've been trying to make up with my liver ever since.

I have a lot of mixed feelings right now - I'm glad to be done with school and its tests, papers, and other hoops through which I had to jump... I'm both excited and terrified about starting my new job in a couple months... I'm very relieved to have some free time to myself until the job starts... I'm oddly anxious and sad about not being around my beloved classmates all the time, and am trying to feel out the right way to stay in touch with my favorite people without being annoying and clingy. The one thing that I am NOT troubled about is taking the NCLEX. I know it's a big deal, and I know I need to prepare for it, but I am completely confident that it will be fine.

one more!

noreply@blogger.com (girl_in_greenwood) — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 01:21:00 +0000

I'm feeling so much better today. I still have an alien mucous creature living in my nose, and I make funny sounds when I cough, but my energy level is normalizing and I don't feel like I need to sleep 80% of the time.

I had my last regular test at school today - it was surprisingly not that hard. Or maybe I studied effectively, although since all my studying was done while high on cold medicine, I'm not convinced that's the answer. The good news is that all of my classmates who were worried that they might not pass the class did really well today and are most likely going to be fine and graduate with us!

Now I'm off to go on a hot date with my husband.

mmmmmmmmmmm

noreply@blogger.com (girl_in_greenwood) — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 21:32:00 +0000

LUSH -- Fragrance: Silky Underwear Solid Perfume

Wow! I've been waiting for this perfume for years, ever since my first trip to a Lush store in Victoria. I adore the scent of Silky Underwear powder but I'm not much of a powder wearer... this is the perfect product for me!

Now I just need to go downtown and hit my local Lush.

six days

noreply@blogger.com (girl_in_greenwood) — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 06:34:00 +0000

I only have six days to go. I am much sicker than I have any right to be - coughing up gross stuff and everything. Ridiculous. I did not let that stop me from going out after clinical with my classmates tonight, though, because it was the very last day of our very last clinical!!! Thank goodness.

All that I have left for the quarter are two more exams for med-surg. They're going to be tough but I fully expect to pass them and graduate. I know several of my classmates are sweating it, though.

fault

noreply@blogger.com (girl_in_greenwood) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 07:10:00 +0000

I overheard an interesting point of view tonight at clinical. A patient was admitted to the floor, apparently had been nauseated and over-sedated in the ER, came to the floor and complained of major pain, then began to projectile vomit. Lovely. The nurse was advocating strongly for the patient, saying "I need pain meds for this patient, they are hurting badly" and generally agitating to get the patient's meds ordered right away. But then behind closed doors, I heard the same nurse saying that she didn't feel any sympathy at all for the patient, because the chronic pain issues are the result of blown-out knees secondary to morbid obesity. In fact, the nurse said something along the lines of, "I feel sorry for the patients with brain tumors because they didn't do anything to bring it on, but the ones with problems from obesity I don't feel sorry for at all because they made that choice."

Wow. That's not very compassionate. And it made me wonder: Is this attitude okay? Does the patient with morbid obesity deserve less sympathy than anyone else? The nurse didn't appear to TREAT the patient any differently... but her attitude was pretty clear. And I also wondered if it's even fair - once someone gets overweight for whatever reason, it is really really hard to lose, especially if you have blown out your knees and can't exercise effectively.

What do you think?

feets

noreply@blogger.com (girl_in_greenwood) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 21:17:00 +0000

World's Softest Support Socks

Beloved classmate M* gave me a tip about these new support socks she just got and says are extremely comfortable. They look excellent and aren't even spendy! Want.

hey, shut it!

noreply@blogger.com (girl_in_greenwood) — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 04:03:00 +0000

In Our Own Words: Anti-Complaining Campaign

I think this is a great idea. One of the reasons I'm so excited about my future job is that because it is a new unit, I will be able to have an immediate effect on the culture of the unit. The number of people from my class who will be on the unit is up to 4, with a few more still in the interview process. All of us who have been hired are non-complainy people, so I hope that we can carry that positive vibe forward!

two weeks

noreply@blogger.com (girl_in_greenwood) — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 18:57:00 +0000

Graduation is two weeks from today.

My last med-surg clinical is halfway over.

I think I'm finally starting to understand how to administer IV medications. Stupid IV pumps.

I've got 3 more exams and 1 more nursing process paper to write in the next two weeks.

One of my very favorite classmates got a job on the same unit as me! She may not be able to work days with me initially, but we'll be going through orientation together. That makes me really happy - she is the one person in my class who I am certain I would have been friends with even if we weren't in nursing school together.

Yesterday afternoon one of the boys in my clinical group said, "Hey guys, two weeks from now we'll be standing in [Classmate A]'s yard with beers in our hands." Unbelievable.

kidlets

noreply@blogger.com (girl_in_greenwood) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 19:07:00 +0000

I haven't been updating this here blog. I've been busy with lots of other stuff. 21 days to graduation!

Yesterday I had an observation clinical at the inpatient pediatric unit at Downtown Nonprofit Hospital. I worked with two completely awesome nurses (one was a graduate of my program!) and had a wonderful time. I love babies, I really do... and I totally don't want to work in pediatrics. It is so sad to see sick kids - and most of the kids I saw weren't even that sick. So I'm adding peds to the list of nursing specialities I don't wish to pursue.

Okay, now I have to go write write write before I leave for clinical tonight. And tomorrow is my last day of work at Neighborhood Hospital. A normal real life is so close I can taste it!

things I think I need to be a nurse

noreply@blogger.com (girl_in_greenwood) — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 02:52:00 +0000

More support stockings.

More UnderArmour to prevent chafing.

A fancy clipboard with a calculator on it.

This book.

A pocket security blanket, because when in doubt, I do research.

I am scared to death of starting my new job, actually, in case you couldn't tell!

I made a decision

noreply@blogger.com (girl_in_greenwood) — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 04:06:00 +0000

I accepted the job at Big County Hospital today. I had an interview at University Teaching Hospital that actually went really, really well... but even so, I think I will be more comfortable with the BCH job. The UTH job was on a very busy mostly surgical unit, and I was frankly intimidated about the idea of trying to learn about all these complex surgical patients while at the same time trying to figure out how to be a nurse without passing out from anxiety. I like the idea of learning from the ground up with all the other new staff. I really like the idea of being in a position to help develop a positive culture on a new unit instead of stepping into established political crap. And I like the idea of having mostly medical patients. Diseases are interesting.

But, the experience of having a really good interview and having the nurse manager offer me the job on the spot was extremely affirming. I had this irrational fear that the nurse manager at BCH was hiring everyone with a pulse just to staff her unit... but today's experience gave me a lot more confidence.

Now I just need to finish the quarter, pass the boards, and get a license. You know, piece of cake. Haha.

P.S. to Doug - 0.9 means 90% of full time, in this case 36 hours/week in the form of 3 12-hour shifts. That means FOUR DAYS OFF every week, rock!

a wealth of options?

noreply@blogger.com (girl_in_greenwood) — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 00:19:00 +0000

Job stuff update:

Big County Hospital offered me a 0.9 day shift position with orientation starting June 2. I have not told them yes or no yet, although I did send them an email letting them know that I got the offer, I am interested, but I have another interview scheduled. The reason they have day shift jobs, which is an excellent jaded cynical old nurse question, is because it's actually a new unit. The hospital is expanding and this is one of the new units that will be opening up when the construction is complete, so they're hiring for all shifts right now, both new grads and experienced nurses.

University Teaching Hospital is interviewing me next week. If I understood correctly, the interview is with the nurse manager on the ortho unit where I had clinicals a couple quarters ago. I didn't love that unit but didn't hate it either. So we'll see how that interview goes, and then I'll make a decision. I feel so lucky that I may well have a choice of jobs.

In other news, I am sick sick sick with a cruddy cold that has robbed me of my speaking voice and filled my head with snot. I dragged my arse out of bed this morning at 5:00 to get to clinical by 6:00 where I supervised 1st quarter students for a few hours, then went to campus and took a terribly difficult test (I passed! Not all my classmates did so!) and stayed for lecture. And now I am home and I am going to bed. Night night.