Pharm is Phinished!

Took my Pharmacology final exam this afternoon. Got an A, which I'm very pleased with. Not sure what I'll earn for my final grade as I am BORDERLINE and within "rounding up" for an A. There are some extra credit points and an ungraded test question that are the unknowns at the moment. But there is nothing left for me to do about it. It's all in the hands of my instructor. Either way, I know I learned a lot and that's what matters! It would be really nice to earn an A, but I won't be destroyed if I don't.

Yesterday my chiropractor did x-rays and first impressions are that I do have some compression in my lumbar vertebrae resulting in loss of lumbar curve (likely exasperated by years of working desk job, studying with poor posture, poor or uneven core muscle strength). She had suspected this from the physical exam, my complaints and descriptions, but it's good to have films to see for sure.  I LOVE the table she puts me on that has a continuous passive movement of my legs which wonderfully stretches my lower back. I could stay on there ALL DAY! We're also expecting that my pelvis is out of whack in relation to the loss of lumbar curve (rotated or tilted...) All I know is that I've got to get my back better before I can really move ahead with a return to running or in starting full-court press workouts this summer.

She'll examine the films more closely before my next appointment and then talk to me about them next week. I'm really very happy to be adjusted two more times before heading to Haiti!

Well, I'd better get to studying for my Med-Surg Test on Monday.

Joy

Just a week more...

One week from today I will be headed up to DC. One week from tomorrow I will be headed to Haiti.

This week: back pain, crazy storms, car problems...all while trying to study for Pharm Test 3 and final exam. Did fine on Test 3, just want to get final taken ASAP so I can start studying for Med-Surg Test 3 and final.  This is going to be a miserable weekend.

Heading out shortly for 2nd chiropractic appointment. I felt soooo terrific and pain free when I left last week, but then sat in theatre for 2 hours to watch The King's Speech, and then I was pretty stiff and miserable afterwards. I really think back pain will be dramatically halted when I stop Allegra...just one more week.

Car issues have been in the back of my mind since February when the check engine light came on. There were no symptoms and I was BUSY...so I let it go. But then the light went off on it's own. So I didn't feel any pressure. A few weeks ago I started having symptoms that I thought were either transmission or fuel injection related. Yesterday, the check engine light came back on. So I called my parents, my sister, my mechanic for me to drop my car off at mechanic's last night and my sister gave me ride to my parent's where I borrowed their car. Complete drain of my study time.

Now I'm off to chiro and then back to continue studying for Pharm...my hope is to take it EARLY tomorrow morning and then spend rest of weekend studying for Med-Surg. I'm really MORE nervous about Med-Surg...that has been the tougher course, although my grades are pretty much the same.

Gotta run.

This Time, it's an Amberjack

Okay, just purchased another mosquito tent. This one is going to require a bit more setup (no one-second set-up like the SansBug).  Got free shipping, so roughly the same price as what I paid for the other one (with shipping). It says it will easily fit in carry-on luggage.  I should be able to fit my air mattress inside according to the dimensions...but I might have to blow it up inside, rather than blowing it up and then moving it inside. The Sansbug tent easily allowed me to negotiate a blow-up twin size mattress through it's zippered door.

I really DO hate this down to the wire business. Hate it. It's my fault for not further researching carry-on size restrictions...and paying attention to the flat size of the SansBug double tent. I just remembered reading "somewhere" that it would fit in overhead storage area...I definitely was reading about the smaller size. Sigh. I know the single would've be just fine. Hopefully the new one will arrive before I leave for Haiti!!! And it would be really nice if it arrived early enough for me to treat it with Permethrin to make it extra-offensive to mosquitoes. My team leaders are suggesting we treat all our clothes with Permethrin. I really hate that...but suppose that makes sense since as we may still be running the clinic when the mosquitoes come out in the evenings (or in the early mornings too, I guess). When I was in Liberia, and I was going to be out after dusk, I would just use bug spray...but since we also don't know how mosquito-proof the house where we'll be stay is...I guess this makes sense. We won't know a lot until we get there. So we've got to be prepared. :D

The next thing to do is to initiate returning the SansBug tent. I really wish I could keep it...it's so cool. But reality is that I can't afford something I can't really haul around the world. Hopefully the SansBug people will be helpful and honor their satisfaction guarantee/return policy. If not... haha, I've got a blog and I'm not afraid to use it (or threaten them with it). Heck, I think they've got a great product, it's just unfortunate that they are out of the smaller size.

Well, Happy Easter everyone!

SansBug update

My Sansbug "bug tent" arrived today. It's nice and spacious. But now I am wondering if it really will be acceptable for carry-on with American Airlines! uh oh. It might be that I read that the smallest SansBug tent is okay for carry-on. Sigh.

 Here it is in "compact" mode next to my rolling book bag (which is basically a carry-on size bag!)  It's 31" in diameter...

Here it is set up in my den with my twin-size air mattress. It is on the spacious side - no risk of claustrophobia!






I really like it. It is FAST (um, 2 seconds) to set up (haven't yet tried putting it away). But I think it's going to be too big as a carry-on. The smaller one is 26", but sold out. That's why I bought this one. And it's such a good price. I'm pretty sure whatever else I find will be more expensive. Bleh. What a headache. Now I'm back to having to figure this out. Do I take this to local airport for their input? Do I return this and start looking again and trying to find one that will accommodate my twin-size air mattress. Ack. This is not what I need right now. Really.  I'd really like to keep this and use it. Now, if there was a way to fit this in a large suitcase...then MAYBE I can force this to work. I guess I need to call my parents and ask them to bring me my large suitcase tonight when I see them (although I had not planned on taking it). Hmm?

Well, I'll report back..hopefully with better news.

Pain in the....

Did I mentioned I've got some horrible lower back pain going on? It's exacerbated by sitting, standing, and not really relieved by walking. Haven't tried running to relieve the pain. haha. I sustained a SI joint injury in 2005 (from doing stupid, foolish, human tricks). I sought chiropractic care, but after a while he suggested I seek PT. So off to PT I went. Spent a couple thousand dollars on co-pays alone. That was the spring prior to my first trip to Liberia. I literally left for Liberia having back pain. Had a little pain on the airplane, but once I was on the ground, I didn't have any back pain, Interestingly, we were sleeping on HORRIBLE foam mattresses. I was shocked but just gave thanks to God for the healing or remission of my back pain. Came back and was relatively fine. I attributed it to not having to sit 8 hours a day in an office chair. Last year I suffered with a lot of pain/stiffness in my lower back which I attributed to standing a lot with my Sunday work at the church AND wearing flip flops. Of course, now my job is to sit on the sofa and read textbooks. Talk about poor posture! It's hard to sit and read at a table or on the sofa--my back/hips just ache!

So I don't know exactly when this acute episode started up again. I think it's been gradually getting worse since March or early April. But I am having constant, dull, diffuse pain (except when I sleep) in my lower back and intermittently in my hips (usually when seated). Thankfully no sciatica that I am aware of.  I was a prone sleeper (stomach sleeper) for most of my childhood and into my college years. I think I became aware of the importance to switch to side or supine sleeping after going to my first chiropractor in the early 90's for TMJ issues. (My TMJ issues were totally resolved by chiropractic care. I still have an slightly abnormal open/closing of my jaw felt upon palpation, but no pain, no trouble opening, no clicking or popping.) So over the past, um, 15-20 years, I have made an effort to change my sleeping position--but I still seem to end up on my stomach a fair amount. But I suppose it's been over the past year or so that I've noticed that I'm waking in the middle of the night and I'm kinda "stuck" on my stomach in an awkward, painful position with my lower back in a hyperextended position. It's getting harder and harder to get out of that position without pain.  We all know that our core muscles are in the trunk of our bodies..abdominals and back muscles, and they are the primary means by which we move in bed. So when you wake up and your lower back is in pain...how can you move? When I wake in pain, I literally have to quickly pop up on my hands/arms (like quickly ripping off a band-aid) so that I can quickly get my back out of its hyper-extension and roll over. And of course my lower back is screaming at me, but then at least my back is in a position where the muscles can relax (and I fall back to sleep).

But in the past month or so my pain has gotten increasingly worse. My guess is that it's gotten worse since clinicals ended and now I'm spending HOURS sitting over my books/notes on a poorly supportive couch. :(  But there's also another interesting catch. I'm not sure why, but I was looking up the side effects to my allergy med (Allegra) and muscle and back pain is listed as a side effect. WHAT?!?!?   So my guess is, if you mix my poor sleeping position, with hours sitting on sofa with poor posture, plus Allegra side effect, with the weight I've gained this past year (ugh) and thus I'm left with acute pain.  So what's a girl to do? Well, I can do something about the weight (and I'm already planning on this).

Well for the past few years I've been thinking I should head back over to my chiropractor and get "adjusted" knowing that I've probably got some mal-alignment  (s;p?) that could be remedied. But because I've been busy and didn't really want to pay the huge co-pay (when I had good insurance) and now don't have a job (and less than great insurance)..it's just hasn't happened. But now...  I've recently learned that an acquaintance from church, Dr. Dolly Garnecki, is a chiropractor and a Palmer Chiropractic grad (my first chiropractor was too!)...so I'm going to try her out. Surprisingly, she is potentially going to be less expensive than the copays I was paying to my other chiropractor! I know I need an adjustment and I honestly cannot wait!  And I'm hoping she can teach me some good exercises to help strengthen my lower back. The one thing that I also need to figure out is HOW do I keep myself from rolling over on my stomach to cuddle with my pillow while I sleep! And also...how to avoid making things worse with my study habits.

I can't go off Allegra. No other med works for me (Seldane, Claritin, Clarinex, Zyrtec...) I am a miserable, blubbering mess without my Allegra. Especially right now when my driveway is SOLID YELLOW!!!  After I get back from Haiti, the pollen counts will be much lower and I can stop taking them. I now have to consider linking my 2005 episode to Allegra too (it all happened roughly same time of year!) and I'm pretty sure I continued to take Allegra while I was in Liberia that time (although I had no pain there.) And I probably stopped taking it when I came back to the US. So it's really hard to know exactly what helped me. "Resting" in Liberia (not sitting at work desk), stopping Allegra or eventually the PT was therapeutic. Hmm?

So I'm kinda at this strange place again. How will I know if it's JUST the Allegra side effects causing me this unrelenting pain OR is it a combination. How will I know if Dr. Dolly's treatment is effective? I may very well leave for Haiti with pain and come back without pain. I HAVE to study these next few weeks...but I won't be studying in Haiti. Although I will be doing a lot of standing related with the medical clinics.  And of course when I come back...I will have had chiro tx, I will have had a break from my sofa/school stuff and I will probably stop taking Allegra once I return from Haiti. So I won't TRULY know what fixed it...or if it was combination. It feels like 2005 all over again--but now I'm enlightened by the Allegra side effect.

I guess I'll be talking this all over with Dr. Dolly on Friday. She might suggest taking another allergy med and stop taking Allegra...and see if back pain improves. But I REALLY cannot afford to be miserably allergic the next two weeks--staying motivated to study is hard enough! But I admit, this back pain makes it really hard to focus too. For the time being I think I'm just gonna have to increase my ibuprofen and be very careful to stick with schedule so that I stay on top of pain. I'm donating platelets on Saturday, so today is the last day that I could take aspirin (which I don't even know if I own).

I was able to move up my yearly physical with my physician to next week so that I can get my Doxycycline (malarial prophylaxis) in time. I will TOTALLY be talking to hear about this too. Allegra is no longer  prescription, but is OTC, but it will be good to share this info with her. And my health insurance doesn't cover meds...so I'd really like to avoid prescription if I can. She can put a record of my back pain in my chart (with comment of likely link to Allegra). I don't think I'll forget the link...but maybe I might come next year. Now I  have to consider next year's treatment as well. I'll still be in school next spring and won't want to be dealing with trying a new allergy med OR back pain. Ack.  I ALWAYS try to start my allergy meds at least 3-4 weeks ahead of the pollen--that way I'm fully medicated when the pollen hits (it really depends on the weather).  I suppose my doc could also run some other tests to see if there might be arthritis or something else going on (I sure hope not...).  I suppose she could prescribe a pain med (that won't make me drowsy?) for when I have to take Allegra. Craziness.

Well, I'll have to report back on my findings. I'm really excited about talking with Dr. Dolly on Friday. Not sure when my first adjustment will be...but hopefully soon!!!!  Note to self: see if you can locate the SI belt from before...no sense having to buy another one.

Looking Back

A year ago today I found out that I was accepted in to nursing school! It was such an exciting day. I was so proud and also so relieved to get good news! I have no regrets, however it's been a rollercoast of emotions ever since. I think the SCHOOL aspect is what is hardest. Tons of readings, taking tests, doing care plans, minimal social life, etc... that's not exactly enjoyable. And really the suggested dynamics of "nurses eat their young" has never really surfaced for me. I've never experienced this. I'm not sure why except I really, REALLY try to impress my instructors so that they don't have to cut into me for slack work. My job is to show them that I KNOW my stuff, to ALWAYS be prepared, to continue to progress in my skills and apply what I've learned in the clinical setting. I think the fact that I've had very good interactions with my instructors, both in classroom and in the clinical setting is that I show them respect (which they return). Sure, I have my days where I've left frustrated, but I would never talk disrespectfully to them or challenge them in front of my peers. Anyone who does this is a fool! In a few short years, these are the very people who we'll be asking for references/recommendations! Unfortunately there is an active nursing school rumor mill and way too much gossip. And sadly, venting is a form of gossip that seems to be widely accepted--yes, I do it too :(   But honestly, I have very few complaints about my nursing school experience. My complaints stem around the fact that I don't like to be tied down to my books all the time and that "my life is not my own". But I feel that I'm in an excellent program that is preparing me well to take the NCLEX and preparing me clinically to give good, thoughtful patient care. My learning to be a nurse will extend FAR past nursing school--a reality that is both reassuring and frightening.

Another great aspect of my experience this past year is getting to know people that were not part of my life before. Specifically there are two women, M and L, who I am so grateful to have met my first semester. They are also older students and somehow we clicked! It's nice to have friends within the program who you can vent with...who truly understand! We've met for study group sessions, we've gone out to lunch together, & every semester we sit together in our lecture courses. Since we aren't taking classes this summer, we're already planning to meet once a week this summer to start reviewing for the NCLEX! We're already discussing next fall and sharing information that we are learning from other sources about courses and clinicals etc...  I totally expect that we'll be prepping and taking boards together, looking for jobs together and providing moral support to each other during our first year of nursing. So grateful!

Hard to believe it's been a year since that acceptance letter arrived. However, THIS SUMMER, I will not be working full-time, not taking a single class (last summer I took THREE classes). And I won't be running all over Charlottesville completing this and that requirements. I'm going to ENJOY my summer.

Congrats to my friend Jennifer (we met in Microbiology) who was just accepted into the nursing program!

Three Weeks and Counting

Just realized that I will probably leave for Haiti without knowing the results of my Med-Surg lecture exam. I suppose that the same could be said for my Pharm exam--depending on the format of the exam. I suppose life will be so crazy that I won't even care!

Tomorrow I need to follow up with my Med-Surg instructors to make sure they got my email about when I would like to take my final exam and that we are "set." It would be very bad if I arrived and there was no exam for me to take. Not good. It's my responsibility to make sure this is all taken care of or at least that I have communicated effectively with my faculty. They are totally doing me a favor, so I have to realize my role in this. I'll definitely be calling the testing center the evening before or the morning of to make sure my exam is there.

My schedule for the next 3 weeks is nuts. I've got normal studying, exam studying, review sessions, leadership award function/reception, doctor appt, standardized patient gig (2 days), Haiti supply pick-ups at local hospital, platelet donations...and I'm not even mentioning that this is Holy Week and that I'd really like to participate in the Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services this week. Mercy.

Bad Dream

Had a dream last night that I was in a car with someone else and happened on a car stopped in the middle of the lane with no one around.  Thinking that it might be an accident, I ran around to the trunk of my car and grabbed gloves for me and my friend. As I approached the accident, I realized that there was no one IN the car, but the two men were pinned under the front of the car (kinda in a seated position--looking back it makes no sense how they were pinned under car and able to sit up). The two guys were talking--I guess to stay calm. I realized quickly that the first guy was my pastor. I was so calm in the middle of this, but I did have a thought that I had NO IDEA what to do. They were pinned under the car, I was not going to get them out and even if I could, that would be a bad idea as they'd probably hemorrhage and go into shock before EMS arrived. They were obviously severely injured. I yelled at my passenger to call 911 and she said she was calling. We were on a two lane road and this car and my car were headed in an uphill direction. The opposite lane was clear but no traffic to speak of. We were basically alone waiting for emergency crews. While waiting, there was one interaction with Greg (my pastor) that I remember vividly. I think I was semi-behind him and stroked his shoulder in a comforting way and he looked at me with this intensity and I said "I'm sorry, does this hurt?" Later I think I realized that he was expressing gratefulness that there was someone present and trying to comfort him. At this point there was still no emergency crews. His situation looked grave and while he was still conscious, I thought there's got to be significant damage to his legs and likely blood loss. I really didn't know what to do. I guess some time went by, I was still not really doing anything, and then from behind me (up the hill) come Greg's family! His girls walked by, sad and calm and with faces of pity. They didn't stop and seemed to move beyond the accident. I don't remember seeing Courtney. At some point I must've left the scene and headed back down the hill toward the major intersection. At this point I was a bit more panicky and ran into a deacon at my church who is a volunteer paramedic and he was extremely agitated and mad at me because I hadn't done anything about preventing traffic up the hill. All of a sudden I was seeing traffic issues and realized that emergency crews were going to have a difficult time getting to the scene.

Then I woke up. I was so grateful it was a dream. I was so real--yet just so many odd pieces. I woke during the 5am hour and it was really difficult to go back to sleep. My incompetence was my shame. I remembered that in my dream I had asked Greg to rate his pain on a scale of 1-10...(that's not really that useful in an emergent situation) but NEVER thought of taking his vitals, asked where his pain was, or asked how this happened. I could have least taken his pulse--even if I didn't have a BP cuff or stethoscope. As I TRIED to fall back asleep, I kept thinking that I should learn what to do in case of an accident. I have CPR training and basic first aid training (if supplies are at hand). But Greg was alert & breathing & basically immobilized (pinned by the car), but probably bleeding internally and nearing shock from blood less. Even now I'm still kinda in my shock about the dream...and wondering what my role was. I guess calling 911 and asking for helicopter AND figuring out way to stop traffic or enlist others to reroute traffic so emergency workers could get through. I was feeling pulled in many directions at the time...but I really just didn't have the instincts or knowledge to know if there was anything I could do to help Greg and his friend. Perhaps a blanket, jacket, etc... I'm such a "do-er" that I was frustrated that I didn't have anything to do. I guess in the midst of a dream you are not really firing on all cognitive cylinders. The fact that he was alert and breathing and no obvious bleeding, I guess I did cover the ABC's (Airway, Breathing, Circulation) that I could deal with. There wasn't much I could do about any internal bleeding. I really did just have to wait for emergency crews who would have the equipment and knowledge of how to get them unpinned by the car and then deal with immobilizing them and the fall out of bleeding and shock. Still, I'm frustrated I could not do more or didn't really know my role.

Even at 5 AM I wanted to send an email to Greg to say "You do wear your seatbelt, right?"

Just grateful it was a dream and grateful too that it's got me thinking.

Subduing the Mess

Since the beginning of the semester I have let my bedroom become a disaster area. I was feeling pretty bad about it last night and made the comment that it would probably have to stay that way until after Haiti. Well, I'm not sure what got into me (perhaps a bit of procrastination from school work), but my 30 minute effort to put away clean laundry and collect dirty clothes did not end after 30 minutes. I guess I spent about 4 hours going through piles, cleaning out the under sink area and throwing a way a LOT of half-used/unused/OLD health & beauty products. Organized the cabinet and drawers! I went through all my meds and threw away all expired meds (seeing if there was anything useful to take to Haiti). I cleaned off my desk and collected about 2 dozen old AA batteries to recycle. When I found something applicable to take to Haiti (camera battery recharger, combination lock, etc.) I just put it in a bag and I'll end up sorting through that stuff in the next couple weeks as I begin to pack and make shopping lists. 

I walk into my room and there is almost next to nothing on my floor but furniture and back of winter clothing. It's wonderful! I haven't vacuumed yet, but think I will do that this evening before bed. Life is so much better when there aren't piles of stuff laying around. And now I have significantly reduced my "risk for fall" during my early morning stagger to the bathroom. haha.

Hopefully I can keep things moderately managed over the coming weeks so that packing for Haiti won't be so complicated. My problem is that while I don't mind doing laundry, I HATE putting clean laundry away and would rather just grab clean clothes out of my laundry baskets. Ack. So this afternoon, while studying, I will cycle a few loads of laundry, including sweaters that I need to wash before putting away for the summer. 

Now that I'm not dealing with clinical stuff 3 days a week, I *should* actually be able to spend a hour or so each week keeping the household subdued. We'll see how it goes. But for now... my bedroom is a bit less cluttered and thus restful. Isn't there a saying that your environment is a reflection of the state of your soul? Cluttered & messy = stressed and busy!

Now downstairs is another thing. Thankfully school stuff is condensed to the den and the dining room. Haiti stuff in the living room...and the rest of life (bills, mail, misc) ends up on the kitchen table. It's not bad, probably a 20 minute pick up job...but school is not over and the space is functional and not stressing me out. It's funny, when I'm looking to procrastinate, I LOVE filling/emptying the dishwasher or taking out trash. Which I guess is a GOOD thing...AND I don't feel so guilty about procrastinating.

Well, I'm hungry and tired, so I'm going to go eat and take a quick nap before jumping on my books. Enough procrastination today. Perhaps while waiting for lunch to heat-up I'll do a quick de-clutter of the kitchen table. Hmm?

Cheers.

My Bug Tent

I'd basically given up on finding the exact "bug tent" (mosquito-free sleep zone) that I was looking for. I had searched online for a hour or so back when I signed on to the trip, but didn't make any decisions b/c I wasn't thrilled with what I was finding.

My desire was to find a tent that would be MOSTLY netting or screen (not solid) and be large enough to allow me to have an inflatable mattress inside if I wanted. Oh, and I didn't want to break the bank on it either (poor nursing student). So I waited a bit and then yesterday I did another search and I found this beauty:

This is a SANSBUG tent. I was planning to get the 1-person but they were sold out...so I ordered the 2-person size and I think I will enjoy the extra room--plus I will be nice to come back and use again with friends (watching fireworks maybe?)  There's no privacy as it's ALL netting--so NOT the best option for camping! haha...oh and the rain that is always inevitable with camping would come right in. LOL.

I'm really excited about this find. It was even on sale at the SansBug website for $36.95 (rather than 52.95) and while the shipping is ridiculous (coming from Ontario), I only ended up paying $56 total. Much below anything I was looking at earlier!

Because I got the mid-size model (2 person), any twin size air mattress would definitely work! Which means I can get a cheapy Wal-Mart one because I don't have to get one less than 33" with the other bug tents available. Originally I thought I was going to have to go with the  Travel Tent, but it didn't meet all my hopes...so I'm glad I waited and found the SansBug. I think you'll agree that the SansBug definitely has the Travel Tent beat in the CUTE-ness category!

The other really cool thing about this tent is that it is quick to set up and quick to put away! It folds down to a 31" disk (easy for carry-on)...

What a find! I'll have to report back on it when I get back from Haiti!

Okay, well now I can cross this off my Haiti To-Do list. Whew. When this arrives I'll go buy my air mattress and then set it up in my living room and try to sleep on it for a couple nights to get use to it. I'm also taking a battery-operated fan which I will have to figure out how to string up too. I think SansBug could totally create some "extras" to give this tent even more marketability.

Just Being Silly

I've missed you, Facebook... but I'll be back very soon (to the groans of my Facebook friends). Not to worry, I won't go all hyper-Facebook when I get back on at Easter. I'll still have two weeks left in semester (including exams) and Haiti preparations that will need my attention.

Could not resist. I even put a countdown timer for graduation on my sidebar!

Hear Ye... 15 Reasons to Date a Nurse

1. You’ll Never Have to Self-Diagnose Again: Dating a nurse means you’ll have on-call support 24/7!
2. Nurses Are Compassionate: you’re dating a nurse, you can count on them to be a dedicated and patient person who knows how to listen!
3. Nurses Are Smart: If you’re dating a nurse, you can be pretty sure you aren’t dating a dummy.
4. Nurses Have Seen It All: Nurses have seen every body type and bodily function. It doesn’t mean people who date nurses can ignore hygiene and proper decorum, but it does mean nurses may be a bit more understanding of normal human imperfections.
5. Nurses Have Nerves of Steel: Accidents are bound to happen. If you’re dating a nurse, you can rest assured it’s nothing their can’t handle. Be glad that they might actually be inclined to think it’s cute and want to take care of you. 
6. A Nurse’s Schedule is Anything But Ordinary: For people who like a little alone time to read a novel or hang out with friends, dating a nurse can be a good way to have your cake and eat it, too.
7. Nurses Are Great to Introduce to Mom and Dad: Nurses make a respectable living, and people look up to them for doing important work that helps people. Telling the ‘rents that you’re dating a nurse will make that meeting easier, right from the start.
8. Nurses Make Great Parents: It's been mentioned how nurses are compassionate and not as squeamish about bodily functions. Not coincidentally, those qualities also make them great parents.
9. Nurses Can Help Keep You Safe: Nurses know CPR, first aid, and some even know how to perform surgical procedures. If any medical emergency arises, they’ll know what to do and stay calm throughout the process.
10. Nurses Have Great Stories: Nurses come across some pretty crazy situations and they can lead to some pretty entertaining stories for you.
11. You Might Get to See the World: Dating a travel nurse? Their nomadic lifestyle could give you the opportunity to travel, see, and live in new cities.
12. You’ll Learn to Talk the Talk: Snuggle up next to your favorite nurse (the one you’re dating, of course) and make sense of all this mumbo jumbo that continually pops up on your favorite TV shows.
13. The Scrubs: Who doesn’t love a man or woman in a uniform? Ok, so maybe scrubs aren’t the sexiest uniform, but you have to admit, they can be pretty darn cute. Besides, if you’re ever in a situation where you need to pick out their work outfit, it should be a breeze.
14. Nurses Are Active: The thing about having a job where you’re on your feet all the time is that you’re constantly moving. Therefore, you might find that nurses are apt to be in better shape than the average desk jockey.
15. Nurse's Rock! Who WOULDN’T want to date a nurse? They‘re amazing! Becoming a nurse is no easy task, and these individuals have persevered through thick and thin. You can sleep at night knowing that the nurse you’re dating is doing something good in this world – even when they aren’t with you!

Borrowed & condensed from: NursingLink

Next Semester

UPDATE:  Looks like they've modified next fall's lecture schedule...

Tuesday:  Psych Lecture

Thursday: Adv Med/Surg Lecture

We won't know until later this summer which day we'll have WHAT clinical. All we know is clinicals will be on Wednesday and Friday (with patient prep on Tuesday/Thursday), but not sure which day will be Psych and which day will be Med/Surg.

I'm looking forward to our Psych clinical. I think it will be interesting! I kinda hope that I'll end up doing clinicals at the mental hospital over the mountain. A distance to travel, but I'd really like to have a clinical experience beyond our local university hospital. And the other local hospital won't be able to host our clinicals next year because they are MOVING to a new location across town. After this semester of having to deal with change to new medical record software--I am very happy that they won't have us mixed up with the move to a new hospital location. Ack! What a nightmare!  My parent's live over the mountain, so getting assigned to location on other side of the mountain (hour drive from my home) wouldn't be all bad. I could plan to stay at my folk's house the night before clinical which would cut significant travel time (although maybe they'd be a distraction?)

Next Semester Blues

The fall schedule has been published and it's not very pretty. Although aside from having all lectures on Monday, I'm not sure what other options there are.

Monday "off"
Tuesday: (9-11 am) Lecture Topic 1  + patient prep (all day)
Wednesday: Clinical A
Thursday (9-11 am) Lecture Topic 2 + patient prep (all day)
Friday Clinical B
Saturday "off"

Sunday "off"

We'll have a Psych clinical and lecture and an Advanced Med/Surg clinical and lecture. For the fall semester it seems that they are splitting up the Day program into two lecture sections. Half will take Psych lecture on Tuesday, the other half will take Psych lecture on Thursday...and the same for Med/Surg. I don't know why they don't just have one Psych lecture section and one Adv Med/Surg lecture section--seems like the staff could be better utilized. I wonder if they'll be assigning us to our lecture slot too. I sure hope not--I really want to be in the same lectures as two of my friends (we've been "together" for all our lecture classes so far---and we met in Health Assessment last summer).

Sure enough, looks like my weekends will be spent doing the readings for both classes. blech. Two days of patient prep might kill me. My understand is, that in the past, that clinical groups assigned to Western State for Psych don't have to do patient prep! But those at Ch'ville locations do! So it feels a little unfair! If not doing patient prep, that means they've got more time to study for lecture. Maybe they'll seek to make it more fair? But it's nice to see that Psych clinicals start at 0800 and not 0700. Also Psych is considered our "intensive writing course". Lovely.

I am hoping that I can get a hold of next semester's text books and be diligent to spend summer reading. I am a world-star procrastinator...so I'll have to fight that. Once I get back from Haiti, I'll have approximately 99 days before fall semester starts. I really need a BREAK and I don't want to burn myself out (reading/covering same material from May through November). However, I think next semester's crazy schedule might just be the motivation I need to get bulk of readings done early. I really hated our Med-Surg text book this semester--it was not easy on the eyes...hopefully next semester's books will be.

Well, I've got a lot of reading to do today...so I better get started.

Clinical #2 Completed

Feels great to have clinical behind me and to now be able to focus on the theory (book work) for the remaining 3.5 weeks. I was looking at the work for Pharm this evening (not studying, just looking) and realized that our next test (end of this month) will cover 17 chapters and my Med-Surg lecture test will cover 16 chapters.  Fun Fun.

In clinical today, we quizzed our clinical instructor for what she could tell us about our fall classes and if she had any recommendations for us. We haven't even finished this semester and we are already fretting over next semester (in the fall). We'll have Advanced Med-Surg and Psych --both include a lecture and a clinical. Because of how time consuming clinical prep was THIS semester...we are wondering how we are going to manage to do two lectures, two clinical days and two prep days. There's also rumor that lectures and prep will be on the same days... It's really looking like my weekends will be consumed with readings for both classes. It really is HARD to come home after a long clinical day and find energy and willpower to do the assigned readings for lecture. I'm not sure how successful I will be, but now I'm wondering if maybe I should plan to do the majority of my readings this summer, take notes with the expectation that I'll only need to review my notes/readings when assigned in class. I'm wondering/hoping that I can talk a second-year student into sharing syllabus/course assignment information with me so that I can have an idea how to pace my readings. If I do get another scholarship for the 2011-2012 school year--they might let me go ahead and buy my books early (this summer), otherwise I'd have to buy them out of pocket and not be able to utilize scholarship for fall text books.

Yes, it's much too early to start stressing over fall semester or even planning to do readings during the summer (yuck!) It's the natural "planner" in me wanting to jump ahead (and a little control-freak mixed in).

What I DO think is a good idea, that a few of my peers are open to, is to plan to meet once a week during the summer and spend a few hours working through an NCLEX review book together. Not only will working together as a group help us stay accountable, but also each of us brings a different perspective or understanding to the material. If one of us is struggling to remember the information...we can work together to help create ways to remember/memorize. And very possibly, just talking through questions with them will help  increase retention of rationales.

I also have hopes to find and make two new recipes a week. I'll start first with basics that anyone should know how to cook (turkey, pot roast, etc.). Guess I may have to start inviting people over for dinner. Not sure if it's even realistic to think that I can pull it off--plus it might prove to be too expensive of a venture. I'm also really hoping to earn some money this summer. A part-time job would be all I would want I think--but not at all sure about the feasibility. Haiti is taking a chunk of my savings and now I'm wondering if I may end up having to get a new or refurbished transmission for my car (it's not happy at the moment). I have a handful of other things I'm considering, but really need to find time to sit down and think things through. Would be nice to have a "plan" for after I get back from Haiti--so that I don't just spin my wheels when I get back and waste the remainder of May.

Well, I'm sleepy and Survivor is over...so I'm heading for bed. Plenty to do tomorrow that is for THIS semester. :D

It's a Wrap - Almost!

The painful part of clinical is over...the prep work. Can't believe I got it done before 7:30 pm. I started later than normal and finished earlier than normal--five hours! I remember that first one took FOREVER!! I think it's largely due to the fact that I've gotten the hang of these working care plans...but also thanks to the fact that this is probably my third care plan for a knee replacement. I'm so ready for something more interesting...BUT I will have to wait 5 months for that. Remind me then when I start to complain.

So tonight, in celebration of finishing my WCP early and that tomorrow is our last day of clinical... I am going to go watch the Dogwood Festival fireworks tonight. Silly I know... but hey, I haven't gotten to do a lot of other stuff this semester that I've wanted to...so I think it'll be fun. Too bad the weather is not 80 degrees like it was on Monday night at 9pm. I think it'll be a cool 48 degrees. lol.

And in honor of the last day of clinical tomorrow... I will AGAIN include my theme song for clinical (which was originally just for last semester, but I guess I just carried it over).  I wonder if this will end up being THE theme song for my entire nursing school career, or if I'll find another good one for next year when I'm working with psych patients, children and new moms. Hmm?

Bebo Norman's "Here Goes"



Just realized that I'm going to have to change out of my pajamas to go to the fireworks tonight...PJ's are my absolute required attire for working on careplans. :D

Semester Three Clinicals Wrapping Up

The end is near. Very near. Last clinical day for this semester is tomorrow. Today I will spend my afternoon/evening writing up my working care plan for my patient. I am really hoping to get some solid sleep tonight.

Funny story, in the wee hours of the morning we had some pretty big storms, enough to wake me up and disorient me. I fell back asleep only to have my alarms go off (I have two) at 6:30ish. On days like this when I don't have a specific time to be at the hospital, I take full advantage of the snooze button. At this point I'd been snoozing for about 15 minutes (3-5 minute cycles) and then I awoke at 0655 and almost panicked thinking it was Wednesday (clinical day) and I was late, VERY late, with no way possible to redeem it. I thought, you've got to be kidding me, my LAST clinical day and I'm going to screw it up and have to come back on Friday??? I took a deep breath and I guess the oxygen kicked in and I realized that no, tomorrow is clinical. Whew. Well, needless to say, I was relieved and then proceeded to snooze for about another 10 cycles (yeh, it's a problem).

Well, if I don't want to be up until midnight working on my CP's, I better get off here and venture to the hospital.

Oh, one more thing. I discovered recently that the Nurse Manager for my unit is a new member at my church. Haven't officially met him yet. Then this past Sunday at church I bumped into one of the physical/occupational therapists (not sure which) from my unit and introduced myself. My church is big...so it's no surprise that it's taken me this long to notice these folks.

Okay... gotta go.

Diagnosis: Hypochondriasis?

Headaches

For the past year or so I've had these strange very mini headaches. Perhaps 2-3x/week, I will experience these quick, stabbing/pulsing pains (maybe 5-7 pulses within 2 seconds) when I first get out of bed in the morning (literally as my feet hit the floor). Sometimes I'll have another 1-2 episodes (each with 5-7 pulses of pain) on the way to the bathroom. Then I won't have them again all day. But it's not just a morning thing (although that is the most predictable time), I've also had them in the middle of the day too. I do suffer from migraines with aura anywhere from 0-2x/month and those are normally in sync with my estrogen/progesterone hormone changes. I can now almost predict them. But these are totally different in the type of pain and the occurrence seem more random (except for morning waking). They last just a few seconds and then can disappear for hours or days. I have at least 2 episodes a week, maybe more. I haven't been documenting them, but I think I should start. So my naturally curious mind takes me to Google to research headaches and symptoms, but there's nothing much out there--which leaves me to wonder if I have some beginning stages of a tumor or neurovascular disease that would be causing these. My biggest fear is NOT that it's something like that, but my fear is that I'll go undiagnosed until it's too late to do anything about it or that my physician will not take my symptoms/concerns seriously and prescribe testing. I'm afraid that maybe I'll come across as having nursing school-induced hypochondriasis with my exposure to all this new information. For a couple years, I've also been experiencing episodes where I cannot come up with a word. Many of you have been in conversations with me and I will be talking and then just stop b/c I can't think of the word. Now I know this is semi-normal  and not a definitive symptom of anything, but combined with these mini-headaches it just makes me wonder. I'm not really anxious or worried about this, maybe I should be. I guess I live in that funny place between hypochondriac and the naivety of thinking "That'll never happen to me."

Hunger Pains

So tonight, as I'm reading about ulcers and other gastrointestinal issues, I read about the "gnawing pain" that occurs about an hour or two after eating. I thought "Huh, I've had that for several years." I've NEVER had GI issues (well, except for stomachaches in 4th grade which I vaguely recall --or maybe I'm confusing myself with my little sister who has had GI issues for as long as I can remember).  I don't really have any risk factors for developing peptic ulcers like excessive use of NSAIDS, acid reflux or alcohol use. I would also say I don't exactly have the typical pain or burning sensations that I've always attributed to the word ulcer. However, when I read "gnawing, aching pain" --that definitely resonated!  So with further reading, I discovered that peptic ulcers can also be caused by Helicobacter pylori, a bacteria that infects the gastric mucosa. Where does this bacteria come from? Well, it can be ingested by drinking contaminated water sources and through other means of transmission. Hmmm? I DID live in a developing country for a year and traveled briefly to that same country for the two years before that. Interestingly, a Google search indicates that  20% of individuals under 40 are infected with H. pylori. Apparently not everyone infected will actually develop peptic ulcer disease, maybe only around 10 to 15% of people. ANYWAYS... interestingly, in one list of peptic ulcer symptoms it says "Hunger and an empty feeling in the stomach, often 1 - 3 hours after a meal." Yep, sounds like me. And several sources, including my text book, suggest that eating can actually make a person feel better (because food helps to dilute the acidity). That's exactly what I've done...even though I know I shouldn't actually be hungry, but eating does make me feel better (and of course means I'm taking in too many calories and thus I pack on the pounds). If I do have a peptic ulcer, then this explains a lot. I have wondered about this strange hunger sensation and had even wondered if what I was feeling was actually result of an overproduction of insulin...but this actually makes much more sense. I never would've have guessed I had an ulcer and that an antibiotic treatment could eliminate this gnawing, hunger pain after eating! The great news is that, IF I do have a peptic ulcer and it is caused by an H. pylori infection, there is a very good chance that a 7-14 day antibiotic treatment could take eliminate the bacteria and allow the ulcer to heal up with help of other meds. This is potentially very good news.

With this information, I definitely feel a bit more empowered/informed going to my physician about the peptic ulcer theory, but will still feel a bit silly expressing my concerns about the possibility of something neuro going on. Peptic Ulcer Disease = common; possibility.  Neuro Disorder = not common; less likely.

I'll be seeing my physician soon in order to get anti-malarials for Haiti and to update my TB test for nursing school...so I'll probably bring these up with her then. I'll let you know... but right now, I'm going to have to eat something as I have this gnawing feeling that needs to be fixed.

A Unique Privilege

This morning, when I went in to meet my patient, it was obvious my patient was still processing the accident he'd be in the day before (there had been a casualty in the other car). He clearly needed to talk about it. That's what's wonderful about being a nursing student...you get to spend TIME with your patients and hear their stories. So I let him talk while I gave him my full attention. Through his description of the accident, it became very apparent to me that the man was a man of faith and probably a Christian. To be sure, I asked a few questions to assess that my instincts were correct (asking whether he had a faith community, etc) and then was able to smile and say "I'm a believer too, would you like for me to pray with you?" He got this very relieved/contented look on his face (even with 10/10 pain rating) and he extended his hand toward me, I grabbed it and we prayed together. It was such a wonderful experience! An experience I've been looking forward to since I started nursing school. What a privilege it is to pray for a patient--a stranger--and yet not a stranger, but a Brother in Christ!  A unique privilege for sure.