I'm headed out!

I'll be leaving for Texas tomorrow afternoon for the student nurses national convention. I am very excited about going! How fun, what a little adventure! If anyone is going, look for me!

basket case

or maybe a case of baskets? I am soooo nervous to be back in med/surg tomorrow! I practiced my IV's today, and got one on one tutoring on insulin injections, etc. Still I haven't been on a regular med/surg floor since almost a year ago! Egad, I'm nervous! Okay, I'm backing away from the edge, breeeeeeeeeeeathe.................. Ommmmmmmmmmm. Okay. I'll fill ya all in later.

the double whammy

Hi y'all, i have been outta commission because this week i had 2 big psych exams. After the regular psych exam i was talking to folks in the class, and dang i missed quite a few. I was just praying i passed with a C. Then we had to take the ATI psych exam. i know a lot of you take those... they are soo hard. I thought, dang i think i failed, i'm gonna have to remediate. As i was leaving the ATI exam, my teacher thumbs up me.... hmmm that sounds rude, anyhoo i had gotten 78%, so phewwwwwwww! i passed it. The fun part was that a really smart student was shouting how he was above the national average, and was generally dancing because he had done so well. Out in the hall, he asked how i did, i said fine, he said how great he had done with his 72%! I wasn't going to tell him my score, he was just so darn proud of himself, but he pushed and pushed so i told him. It was so funny, his face was in shock, he couldn't believe that I scored higher. It cracked me up. Well, my 78% translates to 85% in my class, don't ask me how, i have no idea, some odd formula. Then later on i got my exam grade with a 86%! Wow, was i surprised! So I thank God big time, I am sooo relieved.

I am much relieved. Now I have been working on my skills since we step back into med/surg this wk. dang, it's been a year since the last time i was in med/surg, I hope i remember stuff. So we learned IV starts, that was totally fun. I am sooo looking forward to my first stab. Now i need to review my catheter etc.

I hear the third exam is indeed "a killer". So i really want to get up on all the heart system stuff.

This wk i go to the national stu nurse convention in Texas. I am soooooooooo excited. If you're gonna be there, let me know, i'd love to meet you.

Happy St. Patty's Day!!

Just a quick note to say happy happy! The dern leprechauns have hit our house big time! The living room had tons of blockades, there were leprechauns hanging from the kids doorways ready to bonk them in the nose as they exited their rooms, milk, juice, and toilets all green! Of course the kids had to locate their "treasure" before it disapeared at noon (luckily they did), and shamrocks and leprechauns all over the house! We're having fun, hope you are too!

Psych rotation.....CHECK!

I finished my psych clinicals last wk, yay!!!! Okay, I DO NOT want to be a psych nurse, I DO NOT want to feel threatened on a semi-regular basis. I passed so far with flying colors. We have 2 psych exams this wk, so i must get on the ball and study some more.

I have played with my new toy, and it is sooo fun.

Will start back at med/surg this wk. Dang it's been a while, I hope i remember everything! I'll write more after thursday.

is anyone going to the national stu nurse convention in texas? I'll be there!

first sunday

wow it was sooo odd working at the hospital yesterday. I kept thinking it was tuesday, but then we'd step outside, and there was this wonderful quietness. I never noticed before how sunday feels, but it was amazing. Everything went smoothly, but then i started getting the feeling that one of the pts was getting a little too sweet on me. It's my fault, i kept hanging out at his puzzle. He was the only one around during the groups. He is mostly deaf and swedish, so has a really hard time understanding almost any english so he didn't go to groups. Well after i noticed that i kept away, and he seemed to get the pt. Don't worry he wasn't dangerous. He had been in for depression, so he was just a tad needy.

Tomorrow is our last psych day. I guess that's good and bad. Good because the days would go by soooooooooo slowly. Bad because we are headed back to med/surg which is soooo challenging for me to stay organized and on top of everything. Still, at least the 12 hr days zoom by. We will have a new CI, so that makes me a little nervous. But everyone has said she's a total honey, so i am trying not to freak. Psych was interesting, and I think i have a natural affinity for it, but i think it would be a lot like when i was teaching, a little too stressful in the "danger" area. I just don't think i want that. Aaaaand it's just a little too not physical for me since i have ants in my pants all the time.

On the personal front, I bought a new toy on ebay that i CANNOT wait to get. (see pic!) It cuts out any words that you print out from your computer. It was pricey, but i have been chewing on the idea for quite a while. For those of you who don't scrapbook, I use it to label my scrapbooking pages, you know titles etc. It can also cut out designs that you have on your puter as well. I have found some corners and swirls as well as some cool fonts on dafont all for free. Can't wait to play with it. I'm such a gadget sucker.

a prayer request for me please

Could y'all send out a little prayer for me this wk pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease? My back went out Saturday, and I have been in a lot of pain. And so today, i could not even go to clinicals. Walking is extremely painful. Tomorrow a.m. i have a class that i should not miss (notes and quiz), and Thurs is our first big exam. The stress i feel about those things compounds my back pain, bc stress really adds to it! Thanks all who can.

just a little funny thing....

Wacky Medical Terminology!

Artery: The study of paintings

Bacteria: Back door to the cafeteria

Barium: What you do when CPR fails

Bowel: A letter like A, E, I, O and U

Caesarian Section: A neighborhood near Rome

Cat Scan: Searching for Kitty

Cat Scan: What dogs do when they enter your yard

Colic: A Sheep Dog

Coma: A punctuation mark

Congenital: Friendly

D & C: Where Washington is located

Dilate: To live long

Enema: Not a friend

GI Series: Baseball with teams of soldiers

Grippe: A suitcase

Hangnail: A coat hook

Impotent: Distinguished, well known

Labor pain: Getting hurt at work

Medical Staff: A doctor’s cane

Morbid: A higher offer

Nitrate: Cheaper than the day rate

Node: Was aware of

Outpatient: A patient who has fainted

Pelvis: Cousin of Elvis

Post-Operative: A letter carrier

Protein: In favor

Recovery Room: Where you have your upholstery done

Rectum: Darn near killed him

Rheumatic Fever: Amorous feeling

Secretion: Hiding anything

Seizure: A Roman Emperor

Tablet: A small table

Termination Illness: Sick at the airport

Tibia: North African Country

Tumor: An extra pair

Urine: Opposite of you’re out!

Varicose Veins Veins which are very close together