Well...
So I realize that today is Monday and a weekend has past and two new clinical days have passed but my parents were here and I had to catch up on homework. Plus today also marks the beginning of Tolkien week so when I finally realized that I had missed a blog I went "a;eworituq2340985u73q4p98u6tearo;kjgasdl;fkjga;lefksjga;elskdfgjasl;kgjd" (the random gibberish is translated as oops I'm an idiot but my parents were here so yaaaaaay and Tolkien is awesome like whoa and so is The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings and totally forget everything else that is actually important).
It happens.
Now that that is swept under the rug, let's begin with Thursday. The three of us were in the clinic for the entire day since the person I will be assigned to for the majority of the semester was busy in meetings or something of the sort. The first thing I learned how to do was file charts. All I saw were a bunch of numbers but there actually IS a system as to how those numbers are supposed to correspond. Once I figured it out it was quite easy (you really only have to pay attention to the last 2 numbers). But hey, some would argue that "you FILED CHARTS all day?! You don't go to nursing school for that!!!" Um.....well...actually yeah you do. Sometimes you're going to have the "I didn't go to nursing school for this" moments ANYWHERE you end up working. But that's not the attitude I had; take pride in doing the small things because you have to realize that no matter what you are doing you have a part to play in keeping the system going! Then I saw a few patients as I followed around the nurse and nurse practitioner. The first two I saw were there for routine visits, but something about the last one just resonated with me. Why is it always the sad ones? But this older lady came in with some slight mental impairment (I don't know the full extent of it as my classmates saw the majority of her case) but her situation was just...very sad. We all thought it was very sad, but unfortunately there was nothing any of us could do. The nurse practitioner said this patient had been a regular there and almost every time came in with the same story. I didn't think those kinds of things happen to older women, or suspected that they happen. But they do. And it's sad.
On a happier note, I'm going to move onto Saturday. Saw a baby (or two) that had been born the previous night. The first thing I thought of was man they really wrap them tightly in those blankets. I don't see how that little guy could have moved! No I didn't get to see another birth (darn) but I did get to see a new admission, which was interesting. Those fetal monitors really do pick up on everything...including hiccups! ^__^ What I enjoyed the most was standing outside the hallway with a fellow classmate and we were just bouncing off ideas as to what may be going on with a patient. We talked for quite a while...and in the midst of writing this post I have proceeded to spill yogurt on my keyboard so now my F1 and F2 keys are nice and sticky. But at least they smell like vanilla. So ANYWAY, it was nice to collaborate with a fellow student since nursing in the real world is a collaborative field. You're not autonomous. But back to the fetal monitors. I am amazed at how much technology has changed since even when I was born. In post conference we often talk about how women survived having babies in the 1800's. Nobody knew if they had HELLP syndrome, pre-eclampsia or if their baby was in a breech position. They had their babies and prayed that nothing would happen during the process. Ok, enough about that. I will close this blog by saying that I have really enjoyed this semester so far. I'm not as stressed as I was this time last year and I'm ready to grab the reins and BE DONE!
It happens.
Now that that is swept under the rug, let's begin with Thursday. The three of us were in the clinic for the entire day since the person I will be assigned to for the majority of the semester was busy in meetings or something of the sort. The first thing I learned how to do was file charts. All I saw were a bunch of numbers but there actually IS a system as to how those numbers are supposed to correspond. Once I figured it out it was quite easy (you really only have to pay attention to the last 2 numbers). But hey, some would argue that "you FILED CHARTS all day?! You don't go to nursing school for that!!!" Um.....well...actually yeah you do. Sometimes you're going to have the "I didn't go to nursing school for this" moments ANYWHERE you end up working. But that's not the attitude I had; take pride in doing the small things because you have to realize that no matter what you are doing you have a part to play in keeping the system going! Then I saw a few patients as I followed around the nurse and nurse practitioner. The first two I saw were there for routine visits, but something about the last one just resonated with me. Why is it always the sad ones? But this older lady came in with some slight mental impairment (I don't know the full extent of it as my classmates saw the majority of her case) but her situation was just...very sad. We all thought it was very sad, but unfortunately there was nothing any of us could do. The nurse practitioner said this patient had been a regular there and almost every time came in with the same story. I didn't think those kinds of things happen to older women, or suspected that they happen. But they do. And it's sad.
On a happier note, I'm going to move onto Saturday. Saw a baby (or two) that had been born the previous night. The first thing I thought of was man they really wrap them tightly in those blankets. I don't see how that little guy could have moved! No I didn't get to see another birth (darn) but I did get to see a new admission, which was interesting. Those fetal monitors really do pick up on everything...including hiccups! ^__^ What I enjoyed the most was standing outside the hallway with a fellow classmate and we were just bouncing off ideas as to what may be going on with a patient. We talked for quite a while...and in the midst of writing this post I have proceeded to spill yogurt on my keyboard so now my F1 and F2 keys are nice and sticky. But at least they smell like vanilla. So ANYWAY, it was nice to collaborate with a fellow student since nursing in the real world is a collaborative field. You're not autonomous. But back to the fetal monitors. I am amazed at how much technology has changed since even when I was born. In post conference we often talk about how women survived having babies in the 1800's. Nobody knew if they had HELLP syndrome, pre-eclampsia or if their baby was in a breech position. They had their babies and prayed that nothing would happen during the process. Ok, enough about that. I will close this blog by saying that I have really enjoyed this semester so far. I'm not as stressed as I was this time last year and I'm ready to grab the reins and BE DONE!
Comments
Post a Comment
Questions, comments and concerns are always welcome, so long as they are pertinent to the content of the post, aren't rude or offensive. Thank you for reading and being respectful in sharing your thoughts! :)