tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53339875590242247672012-02-16T11:49:52.704-07:00My experience of nursing school, from student to surviving new grad orientation, to RN in ICU.Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.comBlogger1641100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-62821415908680887232010-09-11T05:40:00.017-06:002010-11-15T18:38:01.259-07:00

This time of year, it is evident that piles of shit can grow beautiful flowers. I think that is the best way to look at my experience in ICU. I am finished with orientation at my new job. I feel so much better every day. Going to work is not a chore, I don't get that dreading, sick feeling in my stomach in the morning anymore. I come home at night considerably less exhausted. I recover faster

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-35111570945495392462010-07-25T07:23:00.010-06:002010-07-25T09:28:48.588-06:00

I've never been one to advocate misogyny, but I am really ashamed of my gender when it comes to what I've experienced in ICU. I had my last day on the unit. It was hard saying goodbye to a very small number of people. But I felt mostly deep relief. Over the past few days people have seen me around the hospital and they say I look happier than they've seen me in a long time. And they also say I'm

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-46914755054120855432010-06-24T19:55:00.008-06:002010-06-25T16:40:51.590-06:00

Last Wednesday I was almost done with my shift at work and I had nothing left to do. I was waiting for the "leadership" meeting to be over so that I could talk to our nurse manager. I needed to tell her that I'd accepted a relief position in outpatient infusion in the onc department, and that I planned to apply for a real job there once the positions opened up. The relief job was very minimal

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-13868100048465496932010-04-29T13:03:00.009-06:002010-04-29T14:00:58.654-06:00

One of the people I work with has been awfully quiet lately. When he first started working there, about 2 years ago, he was full of energy and had all sorts of positive influence on morale and lots of people noticed. Somehow over the past several months he's faded, he doesn't smile or exude good energy anymore. He just comes to work, says little, and does his thing. I've been noticing this

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-19111587334453597192010-04-08T14:57:00.009-06:002010-04-08T16:32:17.858-06:00

No this isn't about a 300 pound patient with C. diff. Although I did take care of one last week and my back still hurts from cleaning up the proverbial storm.This is about the bull, chicken, horse, human, and whatever other creature is throwing it's waste around the unit these days. Our boss, who is the unit director, recently decided to end the Baylor shifts that we've had since the unit started

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-88366015344014197762010-03-30T09:12:00.009-06:002010-04-08T17:16:01.454-06:00

Over the last four months I have done quite a bit of searching and reflection on my own about how I feel in this nursing thing. I've been a nurse for 3 1/2 years now. I went part-time in November. I can't recover from the three 12 hour shifts. I hit bottom one day in November after I was treated so cruelly by most of the members of the leadership team, and a physician, that I cried the entire day

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-46376174342639312722009-11-10T10:05:00.012-07:002009-11-10T20:36:11.313-07:00

I feel like I got a brain transplant and nobody told me. I woke up with someone else's brain. I am so slow, I can't organize my thoughts. I am trying to wake up this morning. I had coffee and I've been up 3 hours, and I am a vegetable. I feel like crying but I don't have the energy. Last night I got off work and I lucked out, only had one patient all day and my admit didn't arrive on time, they

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-33212656100744725802009-10-15T19:49:00.005-06:002009-10-15T20:26:56.618-06:00

Today I went in for a few hours to help out on the unit, it was my day off but I said I would help if we were short. And we were. I covered people for lunch and helped one of my coworkers who had a patient on comfort care who was dying, by helping one of the docs who was putting in a central line in her other patient, and I brought a student in to see the procedure. And then ended my 5 hour

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-62160727826889544922009-09-05T14:58:00.018-06:002010-06-25T16:42:06.565-06:00

I have finally reached a point of fatigue where I feel like I can't take it much longer. I took 9 days off at the end of August. Scheduled myself when I came back so that I could avoid using too much vacation time, because I seem to be using it up fast these days, just to get a few hours off here and there, when I can. I came back, worked 3 in a row, had 2 days off, worked two more. Now I am off

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-88459319667671876532009-02-16T14:51:00.005-07:002010-06-25T16:46:39.050-06:00

This past week I passed the CCRN test. Now I have my critical care professional certification. And I also realized, that after just two years, I am well on the road to burnout.It's only been six weeks since I came back from vacation and all the bad feelings are building up again. I feel like I'm in a box that keeps closing in on me. The box is shrinking all the time, and there are no windows or

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-22168996008542850372009-01-20T20:20:00.003-07:002010-06-25T16:42:48.285-06:00

I haven't posted in nearly a year. Things are better in some ways, but not so great. I just went back and read through some of my old posts for the first time since I wrote them. I am amazed I survived all the crap I did. Unfortunately the crap continues. Some things are easier now, but it's still a load of crap. I have established decent working relationships with most of the other nurses on

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-79746703609625507412008-02-26T15:21:00.006-07:002008-02-26T16:01:31.727-07:00

I returned to day shift this week. It's been a while since I posted and there really hasn't been much worth writing about. I did January and February on nights and it was slow the whole time. Nothing exciting happened at all, until the last night when I finally saw a little action, almost not worth writing about. I had hoped that by working nights I'd get to go to codes, rapid response calls for

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-57634252239509750532007-12-25T19:58:00.000-07:002007-12-25T20:14:13.341-07:00

I worked only 8 hours today. Got to go home early. I had a patient who died this morning and by the time the family left and all the post mortem care was done it was 2 pm and nothing else was happening. I worked Thanksgiving this year and that day I also had a patient who was dying. It was sad for the family but I know they felt a great sense of relief for their family member who had suffered

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-49442992499267605612007-12-19T18:00:00.000-07:002007-12-19T18:38:53.619-07:00

With winter solstice approaching, it is getting awfully dark around here. A couple more days and the light will return. I feel like we're being kept in the dark at work too. Starting to wonder if our manager is really all there. See if you can follow this story. It confuses me. We had a staph meeting last night. The shit is hitting the fan in our department. We are, according to our manager, "

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-61906329398084480262007-12-04T17:13:00.000-07:002007-12-04T19:04:55.533-07:00

It has been pathetically slow in ICU the past two weeks. We have had an average patient census of 3 for 10 days now. I took two days off in the last pay period, I'll be lucky to get a paycheck at all at this rate! Today I went in to start my 3 day stretch and our census was two. I did "projects" all day and finally went home at 3:30. I attended a lecture at lunchtime by some of the infectious

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-41700908126969377272007-11-06T17:12:00.000-07:002007-11-06T17:24:36.035-07:00

The past few weeks have been better. I did start my EKG class which I love. I think someday I will want to do cardiac ICU. Maybe we will get a cardiac unit again someday. I got some sicker patients recently and got to do an intubation, assist with some central and arterial line insertions, and many attempted but unsuccessful insertions. We have two new pulmonologists and they are both going

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-66074338941798204192007-10-22T10:43:00.000-06:002007-10-22T10:48:43.057-06:00

I passed PALS when I retested last week. I also made it through comps and the chaotic computer class from hell. But I feel like a wreck. In the past 2 weeks I feel like the floor caved in under me and I feel somewhat depressed. I haven’t felt this way in almost 4 years since I started on Cytomel for my thyroid. Saturday I had a hard day at work and I talked to one of the respiratory therapists

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-44194265624854312122007-10-17T20:06:00.000-06:002007-10-18T17:09:56.088-06:00

As if running 80 miles in 18 hours around Boulder Reservoir in a garbage bag by the light of a headlamp in soaking wet clothes in a driving blowing rain turning to sleetstorm wasn’t enough last weekend... I was sitting with the CNS in the cafeteria today at the end of my shift. I had transferred out my two DKAers and I was patient-less until 3 pm when I got to go home. I had an 8 hour shift

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-59702500538224479432007-09-26T20:59:00.000-06:002007-09-26T21:41:03.272-06:00

This morning I went in to find out that I had my favorite kind of patient: a psych/detox patient in one room, and Mr. Wiggles next door. It looked like it was going to be an exasperating day.About 7:45 I was standing out in the hall typing away on the computer trying to get my morning organized, putting my patients on my board, looking up their medications, labs and other stuff. It was dead quiet

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-24050704883124899372007-09-13T21:36:00.000-06:002007-09-14T06:46:26.836-06:00

Last week I took a week off followed by four days of work. I went down south and took pictures of old buildings and changing aspen and sunflower-lined roads with a backdrop of the Sangre de Cristos. I took the dogs up to the cabin and we hiked. I did end up coming home a few days early. I got my labs back from my thyroid and I am either overmedicated or my thyroid is freaking out. I wondered why

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-31541736184385216982007-08-23T10:00:00.000-06:002007-08-23T10:44:24.583-06:00

Last week we were having another busy day at work and I happened to be at the nurses station when our CNS and charge nurse were looking at the next week’s schedule. They saw that we had 8 nurses on Monday day shift, but only three nurses including the charge nurse for Sunday night. They decided to see if any day people were willing to do a night shift. They asked one nurse and he said, No way. I

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-83625463056516231282007-08-09T16:04:00.000-06:002007-08-09T16:30:29.375-06:00

It’s been a year since graduation from nursing school. I’ve been working for 9 months and I guess you could say that one year after graduation is some kind of milestone to measure my progress. I know I’ve come a long way in the sense of being able to get through the everyday tasks it takes to take care of patients but I haven’t come very far in being able to think about what’s going on, where we

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-76361237866990890262007-08-01T20:30:00.001-06:002007-08-01T21:49:33.674-06:00

Today I floated to the Medical floor. It was my first time working on a different floor. When they are short staffed on one floor and overstaffed on another, the hospital administrator asks for nurses to go from their home floor to another floor to work. It’s not popular. I knew I’d have to do it eventually so I figured I might as well get my feet wet. I’m glad I did. It also means I won’t have

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-57697284228152345102007-07-25T19:46:00.000-06:002007-08-06T13:29:59.826-06:00

Last week I had two scopes in one afternoon on my two patients. An EGD and then a bronchoscopy, one right after the other. That made me think and be super organized, and it went well. I also gave Romazicon for the first time to reverse my patient’s sedation afterwards since he was oversedated and his blood pressure was too low after the EGD. He woke up and then he was okay. Then in the next room

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-13786491114355081202007-07-08T16:45:00.000-06:002007-07-08T17:10:01.469-06:00

All hell broke loose after the events of last week. The charge nurse from last week caught hell from our CNS over giving me a totally inappropriate assignment. After trying slow low efficiency dialysis for 36 hours and multiple vasopressors along with whatever else we did to keep him alive, the patient died at shift change Wednesday morning, which is surprising he held on as long as he did. He

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-84214412457243047642007-07-03T22:57:00.000-06:002007-07-03T23:05:43.542-06:00

Monday I walked in and it was a slow morning. Six patients total and five nurses. I was asked if I had projects to do. No, I really didn’t. I asked if I could get a patient and stay busy. The charge nurse gave me two. As I was walking out to get report I saw the night charge nurse, he asked me who I got, I told him “2 and 3” and he looked me like “what?!” like that was a crazy assignment. I guess

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-57748928667265832912007-06-24T18:17:00.000-06:002007-06-25T17:39:56.830-06:00

I just got back from Estes Park. I went into work this morning and there were only 4 patients. Lots of nurses and several orientees, who get patient assignment priority. The rest of us were faced with 12 hours of boredom trying to find things to keep busy, or to take a day off. I chose the day off, so I went home, changed out of my scrubs into my running stuff, drove to Estes and I ran Longs Peak

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-9001774931339888822007-06-08T08:19:00.000-06:002007-06-08T08:53:16.437-06:00

I finished my 7th week off orientation yesterday. The time has flown by. This week I started to feel a little more comfortable, I was able to help the other nurses a lot more with their patients and be aware of what was going on around me, outside of my little two patient world. I feel more comfortable watching the other nurses’ patients when they go to lunch, and it’s nice to be able to walk

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-57441487685011202152007-05-24T22:07:00.000-06:002007-05-25T06:37:44.019-06:00

In my last post I said I was ready to move on to a bigger challenge. Be careful what you ask for, you might get it. I got my challenge today and then some. The day started out slow. I got a psych patient who was a one to one. She had some meds but mostly needed a PICC line put in and to be watched. I gave another IM injection, this time of a psych med. IM injections scare me. Nothing much was

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-91132750416841144152007-05-22T07:24:00.000-06:002007-05-22T11:03:10.336-06:00

I survived what I feared might be a week from hell. I was at work way too many days the past two weeks but it wasn’t all bad. The worst part was sitting through an 8 hour class on pain management. That was torture. They could have crammed all that material into three or four hours. It was a joke to sit there listening to all the stories and sidebars- I was more exhausted at the end of 8 hours of

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-995230291053010122007-05-11T18:05:00.000-06:002007-05-11T18:16:50.694-06:00

This was the weirdest week. I had to be there four days which I wasn’t thrilled about. I ran a marathon on Sunday and forgot to ask for the day afterwards off, I thought I’d need a recovery day. I was scheduled for an 8 hour shift and figured I could go home afterwards and take a nap. I ran hard in the marathon, told myself I had to make it hurt or I’d really be hurting over memorial Day weekend

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-12645647526314820782007-05-01T17:38:00.000-06:002007-05-01T17:45:59.805-06:00

Or animal planet? Yesterday I took care of a wild animal. And across the hall was another patient who moaned all day long and sounded like an elephant. No kidding. I really thought I was at the zoo all day. I was afraid I’d go home dreaming about zebras and lions. I only had one patient again, which was enough. She had a psychiatric history and substance abuse. She was determined to get out of

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-33046300408459131182007-04-26T20:32:00.000-06:002007-04-26T20:59:35.814-06:00

Today was my first day on my own with patients. This week was weird. I was supposed to start with patients on Monday but we only had two patients on the unit all week until today. On Monday I did education stuff all day and yesterday I did more education crap and took the remaining hours without pay by choice so I won't use up all my vacation time. Today I started out with two patients, and both

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-10839244478345902022007-04-19T20:09:00.000-06:002007-04-19T20:48:08.542-06:00

I'm done. My last day of orientation I spent 11 hours working on my online course work stuff. I was all charged up for a tough day when I got in this morning and I didn't even get a patient assignment! There were not enough patients and too many nurses, and we had some new people in for orientation, I guess we were out of preceptors too. That was good for me, I needed to get some work done since

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-7041727018048331052007-04-18T12:42:00.000-06:002007-04-18T13:05:06.303-06:00

I just got back from a staff meeting and something painful. The staff meeting itself wasn’t too painful except for having to go in at 7:30 am on my day off. I’ve been waking up at 4 am every day this week for some reason so it wasn’t like I had to drag myself out of bed for it. The painful part was doing the prep homework for the pain management class I am taking in a few weeks. I had to read

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-75215543328834692942007-04-13T10:15:00.000-06:002007-04-13T10:44:35.101-06:00

Wednesday was a relaxing day at work, when we got there we only had 4 patients on the unit and there were plenty of staff available, so I got a day to catch up on some of the education stuff I’ve brushed aside while we were so busy. Michelle and I went over my post-orientation evaluation, I talked about my experiences and how things went, and where I think things could have been improved. I got

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-11503241268296914922007-04-05T15:24:00.000-06:002007-04-05T16:05:40.277-06:00

I passed ACLS. We got out early, I was done with my test and my code scenario by 2 pm, and I felt good about cruising through the class, the EKG strips were the hardest part for me but once we got through the test on those it was easier since I already could recognize the basic rhythms that we really had to know. I stopped upstairs briefly to drop off my notebook and check my work e-mail. The

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-78319042687408770512007-04-04T17:40:00.000-06:002007-04-06T11:51:31.373-06:00

Tuesday night after looking over my rhythm strips one more time Dale said he shocked the hot tub the other day. We haven’t used it once since we moved in. Too busy to think about it. While we were eating he mentioned it, and I thought that would be the perfect thing to help me relax. We sat in there with the jets for about 20 minutes or so, but it didn’t help me sleep. I was awake late, trying

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-19771308121724459842007-04-03T15:43:00.000-06:002007-04-03T16:44:12.851-06:00

Monday afternoon Michelle called me, she was being charge nurse and was at the desk. I managed to tell her part of what happened this weekend in between sobs. We started to talk but she got interrupted by a code. This morning I left a voice mail and email for her, but I knew she would be home today. Finally at 10:30 I called her at home. I was going crazy, trying to figure out if I'm the one who

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-22967246436130990522007-04-02T15:58:00.000-06:002007-04-06T11:36:43.068-06:00

Comes down hard and goes SPLAT!That’s how I feel after my weekend with yet a different preceptor…I came home after two days of work feeling totally incompetent and unprepared to go on my own, be an ICU nurse, or even to be a nurse at all. I feel like I am not cut out for this. Maybe I have too narrow a focus on things and don’t see the whole picture. I came home and cried for a good half hour

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-69127509929280446362007-03-29T07:58:00.000-06:002007-03-29T19:22:26.571-06:00

This week I was paired with a preceptor who has 20 years of experience and is new to the hospital. She has been an educator in critical care and she is one of those rare people who knows how to teach. The past couple of weeks I have been getting tougher assignments because they are trying to give me more of a challenge, to get some unstable patients, before I go on my own. This week we had all GI

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-32282133542426423272007-03-19T17:01:00.000-06:002007-03-29T13:20:34.602-06:00

I made it through my marathon, my first long run in over a year. I haven’t done anything this long since February 06. I was more concerned about my hamstring, and that was okay. I felt tired. I haven’t been doing enough long runs. I had a great first three hours and was strong on the climb, holding back for the hamstring. The last two hours were tough, I struggled on the flats through the muddy

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-76017328323910232382007-03-15T20:18:00.000-06:002007-03-29T13:22:13.149-06:00

I made it through the day. I thought it would never end. After 2 days off I wasn't recovered from the last stretch of three, and fortunately I had just one day to work and now I have four off. I started out my day not so happy, I didn't sleep well last night, I was up for 3 hours during the night, wide awake, not even thinking, but awake. It sucks. Must be hormones, PMS. I have a huge zit growing

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-59287367344888972982007-03-13T20:26:00.001-06:002007-03-29T13:22:43.253-06:00

We’ve had more drama and insanity on the floor. Finally on Monday one of the administrators came around the floor , thanking us for hanging in there and promising he was going to get us some help. We have had some of the busiest days ever, and we need more staff. I had two patients all by myself one day while the charge nurse was my preceptor, but I never asked her more than 2 questions all day.

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-82651461539016410022007-03-07T20:11:00.000-07:002007-03-29T13:38:12.613-06:00

Today was one of the crazy days on the unit, I feel like those are the days I enjoy work the most. Usually. I didn't have anyone standing over me today. I precepted with the charge nurse and we were short a nurse, and we were down one more after noon when one float pool nurse had to leave because of a sick kid. As I sit here I am hearing the tube feeding alarms going off in my head. Today I felt

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-17518827665645120942007-03-02T20:40:00.000-07:002007-03-29T13:38:47.404-06:00

March has arrived with the wind and mud. Not cold enough to freeze the ground but cold enough to freeze any skin that's exposed. This winter feels like it's never going to end. We probably won't have a spring, we'll go straight to summer and record-high temperatures. Not so bad if you plan to train for running across Death Valley in July. Unfortunately that's not part of my agenda at this point.

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-20990862150191523812007-02-26T22:49:00.000-07:002007-03-29T13:39:11.814-06:00

Today was a 14+ hour day. I know I was clocked in at work for 13 1/2. I had 3 different patients today, gave one up at 4 pm for a post-op, which I had asked for. The other patient was busy too, so I was busy all day long. It's good to be busy. I learned several new tricks today, like how to deal with an epidural, how to deal with an extremely agitated patient, TPN, and a few other miscellaneous

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-57133276061454386242007-02-25T14:06:00.000-07:002007-03-24T15:57:01.632-06:00

What's that weird dark fuzzy stuff in the neighbor's yard? Friday, after two months of having the same chest-high snowdrift (down from over my head a month ago) the plows came through and removed the last of the snow piles from our street. The neighbor's yard melted the other day. Our is still a foot deep under the shadow of the trees but we have a few green spots showing. I have been exhausted

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-47110426325548173902007-02-15T08:52:00.000-07:002007-03-29T13:39:45.195-06:00

It's 11 degrees and promising to be sunny this morning, as if the universe answered my wishes. I feel more motivated to get out the door today, I will run and try out my hamstring since I gave it several more days of rest. Last night I slept well but had a dream about work. I have some thoughts about why nursing is such a burnout job. I think it requires us to use so many different parts of our

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-34723400927392079382007-02-14T20:12:00.000-07:002007-03-29T13:40:27.400-06:00

I am tired tonight. It snowed about two inches last night and several more today. This is an unusual winter and what's getting to me is not so much the cold and snow but the lack of sunshine. My mood matches the color of the sky. After taking all our tax stuff into the accountant this morning, I managed to upload all of Block One today. That's the part I had already edited. Now it will be slow

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-77150368126903553642007-02-13T14:50:00.000-07:002007-04-06T07:01:53.106-06:00

I wrote this a while back but it seemed fitting for my mood today.nurse to the barrenspiritsi make art during the day poring my books of the human bodyand what to do when it goes astray.night sucking it out of mei put on my shield to enter that thirsty tunnelthat few manage to evadein this time when livesare thrown away in plastic boxesincinerated under red white and blue shame.just a few

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-13356397165865214922007-02-13T12:43:00.000-07:002007-03-29T13:41:43.276-06:00

I sent out an email to the readers of my journal and so far I've had the almost unanimous response, do it as a blog. So here it is. I'm starting this as a blog today and I'll upload the files as soon as I get around to it, in between chunks of work time.It's snowing, of course, on my day off. That's okay because I don't have the energy to go out and bounce around in the sunshine. I worked 3 busy

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-63807698115666746312007-02-09T16:35:00.000-07:002007-03-24T15:55:58.258-06:00

I am so frustrated I could give myself a closed head injury. I feel like banging my head against the wall. That's what everything is like now. I am ready to pop out of my skin. Absolutely everything is bugging me. I need a vacation bad. First of all I have been totally screwed over by my ISP, these idiots could not figure out how to transfer my DSL service from my last address to my new one. I

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-62490015203882970182007-01-27T17:21:00.000-07:002007-04-06T11:39:33.625-06:00

I woke up at 2:30 this morning and could not get back to sleep. So much unfinished business and so much on my mind. I go to work today, I heard the census is low so I hope I can get the patients. I can't see myself doing online crap all day. That would suck. Dale has been working super long hours. Today they have an "open house" for the public at the new hospital. He's practically living there

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-39120984054180508362007-01-12T18:12:00.000-07:002007-04-06T11:42:55.404-06:00

I got to practice my foley catheter insertion skills this week, I've been lacking experience catheterizing men. I got two of them this week. First guy was in agony, he had an enlarged prostate and was retaining urine and he was yelling the whole time as I put it in. I felt so bad for the guy. It was another nurse's patient and I think maybe he could have been premedicated before it. Next time I

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-16025366009023870752007-01-08T17:44:00.000-07:002007-04-06T11:45:55.400-06:00

I am now in my 10th week of orientation. I look forward to the rest of the month because I am now with Michelle, our unit educator, for the whole month of January. While we're in transition before the new hospital opens, we have a change in staffing and we lose all the people going to the new hospital. Not a loss, but a blessing. I feel like once they are all gone, we will have a good group of

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-57691063193116875742006-12-27T19:53:00.000-07:002007-04-06T11:41:25.086-06:00

The blizzard was exciting. It was fun running to work. The drifts were four to six feet high! It took me about 20 minutes to get there the first day. It's only a mile. Not only did the streets need plowing, but we had to scrape ice off the front window INSIDE the living room. We need ice scrapers for the car but also inside the house! During the blizzard I worked with a preceptor who is supposed

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-89964609832511896842006-12-20T19:18:00.000-07:002007-04-06T11:44:41.691-06:00

I finally made it through the two weeks from hell. I didn't think I was going to survive, my stress level exceeded anything in my memory. Things are working out. I had 3 hours of staff meetings last Thursday. I wasn't thrilled about that because all I could think of was going out to see my sister. I had to be there, they are mandatory right now. It was supposed to be my day off. First we had a

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-37874375300245452012006-12-13T22:05:00.000-07:002007-03-29T11:44:06.859-06:00

There is such a thing as too much excitement. Lately things have been so insane. I have not had time to write or even process my thoughts each day, the past 2 weeks have been a blur and I am hoping to get back to some sort of normal existence, whatever that is. I think I have told some of you individually about my sister, she found a lump in her breast back in October right around when I was

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-79785025418947190612006-11-23T21:28:00.000-07:002007-03-23T09:48:41.982-06:00

I just came off a stretch of 6 shifts in 8 days so I'm now to the point where I can think again. The other night I had my first patient who died during my shift. Being in ICU I am sure I will see this a lot more, unfortunately, but I want to describe the experience. I don't want to make it sound like it was business as usual, because it wasn't, and the experience I had that night, not only with

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-59203563214145702802006-11-11T21:27:00.000-07:002007-03-29T11:30:55.204-06:00

I've been in orientation on the floor for two weeks and my brain is so full of stuff it's bulging. I hope I don't herniate. I have been doing nights in the surgical neuro ICU and so far the other nurses have been supportive, it's such a relief to know that I’m not alone. I have a great preceptor this month. His name is Jim and he's from the south. He has about 10 years of ICU experience and he is

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-38801408094443498392006-10-26T17:26:00.000-06:002007-04-06T12:06:59.648-06:00

Here I am in Colorado. I am officially a Colorado RN as I got my license the same day I arrived. No longer a nursing student, now RN- a "REAL NURSE". I'm a baby nurse, it's like being born. Maybe that's not a good analogy. It's like being popped out of the oven. Sounds like the Pillsbury dough boy. But I do still have those 10 lbs of nursing school fat to lose. I got up here on the 10th, I've

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-32351606585685743712006-10-06T08:08:00.000-06:002007-03-24T15:34:01.259-06:00

I am getting ready to leave for Colorado. Some last minute packing and errands to do and I'll be ready to go. Life is never boring. Still waiting for the Colorado RN license, but I expect it will be another week. I am moving on Monday the 9th. I am going to drive part way with the dogs and then drive the rest of the way on the 10th. I feel bad about leaving Dale in this house alone. He works most

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-45320340432907403022006-09-19T19:23:00.001-06:002007-03-24T15:37:28.182-06:00

The men in the white coats are coming to take me away. They won't be wearing white coats, though. Or Hazmat suits either. They will be wearing t-shirts that say Mayflower and they are coming on October 9th to take all of our stuff to Colorado. I will drive in my little truck with the dogs. For now we will be staying with my new roommate and her dog (a 100 pound Pyrenees/Lab mix). I met her

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-71289468404655374012006-09-11T21:21:00.000-06:002007-03-29T11:35:11.309-06:00

I have now received my license in the mail two days after I took the NCLEX (impressive, State Board of Nursing. Perhaps you could teach Colorado a thing or two.) I priority mailed my Colorado license application this morning and all I have to do is wait for the verification paperwork to be submited to the national office which will happen by Wednesday. (Why do I have this feeling that some

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-21374107508910363402006-09-08T11:16:00.000-06:002007-03-29T14:53:07.464-06:00

I took the NCLEX yesterday, the morning of September 7th. I woke up way, way too early yesterday morning, at 4:30 because I had to pee and then the dogs wouldn't let me go back to sleep. I was having some weird dream about the military and Rumsfeld. It rained hard last night and I think I slept but I remember hearing the thunder and the rain. I was trying not to be nervous but I was. I ate a lot-

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-3455750486716111582006-09-03T17:33:00.000-06:002007-04-06T12:07:58.133-06:00

WAHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! I'm back in Desert Hills. TEMPORARILY. I have some VERY EXCITING NEWS.... I got the official job offer from the ICU at my first choice hospital in Colorado. I have a start date of November 6th, which could be earlier if my license in Colorado is processed faster. Need I mention...I accepted it? We left for Colorado on the 19th and spent a few days in Como before heading

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-56397199805169121982006-08-11T00:05:00.000-06:002007-03-01T19:57:10.036-07:00

It's done. It's like going 90 miles an hour forever and then suddenly coming to a dead stop. We had our pinning ceremony (what the nursing faculty calls graduation) this afternoon. It was weird to see everyone again because we haven't been together for nearly 2 weeks now since finals. During the preceptorship we were spread out all over the place. Seemed like a long time. I had no appetite all

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-24986550726934089462006-08-08T13:56:00.000-06:002007-03-01T19:58:06.384-07:00

Zombie nurse vampire here. It crossed my mind at some point during the past week or so, I don't know what's worse, going through 17 months of nursing school or taking a chance on blowing it all by giving meds after being awake 28 hours straight. I did 84 hours jammed into 7 twelve hour shifts of unpaid sweat in ten days on an average of 5 hours of sleep. A regular schedule of 3 days a week will

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-1286658859516492172006-08-06T16:33:00.000-06:002007-03-02T07:49:16.682-07:00

What I wrote the morning after Day 3:I am so tired. I was so nauseated and dizzy at the start of my shift that I bit off a chunk of a meclizine tablet and swallowed it. I have used almost all of the package I bought in June. Scary that I've had that many days I needed it. It takes the edge off the nausea but I'm still dizzy. I finally got to CVICU and it wasn't as much fun as ICU. I don't think

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-8146058536268995542006-07-30T11:32:00.000-06:002007-03-03T18:40:55.878-07:00

As of today, it's two shifts down, five to go. So far I am learning a ton, getting lots of experience at different things, and happy because I feel like critical care is my thing. I love it. I'm going to keep track a few days at a time, as I go. Day One: Nurse-Vampire here, fresh off my first all-night preceptorship plus 5 hours of sleep and ready to go at it again in a few more hours. This week

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-12975369660669154912006-07-27T18:08:00.000-06:002007-03-09T17:47:00.355-07:00

I am sitting down to write this with the most profound state of exhaustion I've ever been in. Even a dysfunctional thyroid approaching myxedemic coma doesn't come close. Fortunately I've been writing little bits in this journal all week so there's not too much to add today. I just got home from school. We had the final exam this morning, then our preceptorship orientation, then a rehearsal for

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-56485532199211090682006-07-21T00:34:00.000-06:002007-04-06T11:58:14.828-06:00

I should be sleeping right now. The only thing that's keeping me awake is adrenaline. I am thoroughly exhausted, excited, frustrated, mad, relieved, sad, overjoyed, and whatever other emotion I can possibly have. No I'm not even PMSing. Today we had our last day of lecture and our last regular exam (on Neuro) before finals. It finally hit me this week, I think it was Tuesday, that I'm going to

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-58731853142986841762006-07-17T19:57:00.000-06:002007-03-03T19:03:26.253-07:00

Today I was in labor & delivery at Metro. I'd have to say today was one of the best days I've ever had in all of nursing school. Maybe the best clinical day of all? The nurses were great, the patients were great, it was fast-paced, the instructor we had was awesome, and I got to do all kinds of things all day. Before lunch I delivered a baby (along with the nurse, almost all by ourselves except

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-67858346998770276852006-07-13T18:04:00.000-06:002007-03-02T06:45:01.061-07:00

Today was a loooooong day of neuro with the Amazon. It's hot and everyone is anxious because the material is difficult, and the Amazon gave us the option to stay and get more lecture from 3:30 to 5 pm but about half the class opted out. We are all toast! It got kind of crazy in there after a while, the Amazon was talking about Cranial Nerve number 10, the “Vegas” nerve. She said it’s important “

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-62668829280294795692006-07-04T19:56:00.000-06:002007-03-02T07:37:18.490-07:00

Happy Fourth. It was a happy one, we had no clinical this week. I loved being home, hanging out with Dale and the girls, a couple of hours of studying each day and all that time to relax....NOT. We are getting ready to MOVE! Now I'm facing one more free day and then back to the grind- for a few more weeks. Speaking of flags, one of the dogs jumped on me at one point this weekend and scratched me

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-26059149837659041762006-06-27T20:12:00.000-06:002007-03-02T07:39:19.790-07:00

We started our Pediatrics rotation this week. Monday we got a break, we had our clinical day in lab with our "virtual OB clinical", where we did these lessons on the computer in groups. We met with the coconut only from 7:30 am to noon and it was so laid back. I love the Coconut. She was a little late, she called someone in class to tell them she was stuck in traffic and would be there. Turned

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-89171413368052215822006-06-23T03:19:00.000-06:002007-03-08T19:58:35.426-07:00

It's 1:20 am and I woke up for no reason. I am tired but not able to fall asleep. Maybe my mind is still overloaded. Or maybe it's the steroids. Whatever I ate today is giving me gas and bloating. Back to that again. I went out for lunch to a Chinese restaurant yesterday with Gail and Liz from class. Or it could be my body freaking out. It's hot and there's a lot of stuff on my mind. I am afraid

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-63736571712843322292006-06-20T14:27:00.000-06:002007-03-01T20:27:26.031-07:00

A lot happened this week. It's only Tuesday! Just got home from the morning BS session. We had a day scheduled in the lab for clinicals instead of in the hospital. We were supposed to meet from 7 to 7. So they told us. Roger told us be in our uniforms at 0700 at campus. He wasn't going to be there, some family thing came up for him and he had to go out of town. We were to meet the Amazon at the

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-425191961271236652006-06-16T15:46:00.000-06:002007-03-02T07:03:52.086-07:00

Today I filled out my application for my RN license here. It was weird. It doesn't seem like this can be the application for a real license. I guess it will hit me one of these days, but I still can't believe I'm this close to graduation. At this point it feels like nursing school is a persistent (vegetative?) state. Wrote my check for $220 to the state board of nursing. I got a break, since my

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-12411326763272059312006-06-13T21:45:00.000-06:002007-04-06T11:46:52.671-06:00

What a week. I can hardly believe we're nearly halfway through June! Wahoo! As far as classes go, it's been pretty mellow, a lot of reading, studying, and long lectures. The Amazon's test is going to be a killer though. We're getting all kinds of new info from her and from Roger in clinical. But the conversation during class breaks is about dust. How much of it is accumulating in our homes. How

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-34758330630943556482006-06-07T13:52:00.000-06:002007-03-01T20:18:27.523-07:00

I am somehow on the far side of my first clinical experience in the ICU and I don't even remember it. I've had so little sleep and so much being loaded into my brain I doubt I'll recall anything that happens this summer. I don't recommend this accelerated Block 4 to anyone. Right now I am so sleep deprived, my body is revolting. I am still on that boat. I went to get my eyes checked last Friday

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-32783552288837231422006-06-02T18:20:00.000-06:002007-03-02T06:32:49.538-07:00

That's bring your own bag to class. A paper bag, in case you hyperventilate from the stress of having so much piled on you that there aren't enough hours in the day to get it all done and maintain your sanity. Make sure it's recycled.I'm not the only one with acute respiratory distress. I'm not hyperventilating from the amount of work that has been dropped on us. I'm in a boat. I wish I could be

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-49101420298057923642006-05-30T19:48:00.000-06:002007-03-01T20:01:38.670-07:00

Haiku of the day: "Math tests are the worst. I've had twenty-four hours of diarrhea." -anonymous classmate The first day we supposedly had orientation for clinicals and our math test. Well it turned out to be a partial orientation, and we had our math test (passed, and it was the easiest one yet) and then we had lecture all afternoon starting our Process class. We got dumped on with a ton of

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-55305818492913282572006-05-26T16:46:00.000-06:002007-03-08T20:01:40.747-07:00

None, because a dim bulb is much brighter than any nurse recruiter I've ever met. This week I applied for two jobs here to get a few interviews and have some options in case the Colorado thing doesn't happen soon enough. I have in the back of my mind a plan in case. I want to go to one of the other hospitals in town and try to get an interview in their telemetry dept for practice. I have also

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-20619107436788529232006-05-23T20:44:00.000-06:002007-03-03T19:09:06.980-07:00

I went to Colorado for the week. I was originally going to check out lots of places, a lot of different hospitals. I narrowed it down to two. Actually, between the two it was one-stop shopping because they are in the same hospital system. I had all these plans to do an intense job search, but the reality of it was that I'm tired from the intensity of school and what I need is a vacation. I drove

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-6321662618842834302006-05-12T07:38:00.000-06:002007-04-06T11:54:58.812-06:00

Thursday I went into the hospital to get my staff evaluation. Even though I haven't worked in 4 months, I am still on call so I get evaluated. I thought my evaluation would be given to me by the floor supervisor, I don't know why I thought our manager wouldn't be there. But she was. The session turned into a heavy-hitting recruiting attempt. I didn't want to say yes, yet I didn't want to say no.

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-81703798697911052142006-05-09T18:47:00.000-06:002007-03-03T19:10:55.973-07:00

Here's a breakdown of final exam day, Block 3:part 1. Morning Assessment final: After yesterday's ego-demolishing experience we were treated to more insult this morning. We got there this morning for the Assessment final and Misery Kate was there. She wouldn't look at directly at us. Before we started the exam she said something about she's not as mean as she looks, then gave this sort-of speech

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-31839031282510121442006-05-08T18:46:00.000-06:002007-03-03T19:21:01.818-07:00

I was toast after the last clinical day on Friday, I didn't sleep too well the night before and then being up at 4:45, being there all day and then going out to dinner and not getting home until after 8 pm, and then I couldn't wind down so I stayed up on the computer until 11. Saturday I was pretty worthless, I studied the newest notes for the two finals and prepped a little for our skills final

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-76331042708454254742006-05-05T23:42:00.000-06:002007-02-23T12:46:05.565-07:00

Quince libras de gordo. Pardon my Spanish. It's rusty. Today we had our last day of clinical for Block 3! Wahoo!!!! It also happens to be Cinco de Mayo and we went out for post-conference to a restaurant in downtown Desert Valley and Roger treated us to dinner (and once all the uniforms were off, most of us had margaritas) I finished up Block 3 with an easy day, a challenging patient, and a

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-55635471319816468762006-05-02T19:41:00.000-06:002007-03-01T15:04:35.927-07:00

Today was the last day of lecture for the semester! What a relief! By 4:00 I was ready to scream. I had such a headache from being in that classroom with the usual cast of characters. Miss Anxiety and the attention seekers were in their best form today. Every time there's a little uncertainty, they all go apeshit and freak out. Yesterday we had our Pharm final. I did well and ended up with an A

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-63673913036909156192006-04-29T07:39:00.000-06:002007-02-23T12:48:25.484-07:00

What's that barking I hear? Is it tinnitus? No! It's the chihuahua! We think we're finally done with all the assignments for the semester, when Chi-Chi the Chihuahua on Steroids emerges from her doghouse. She's off the leash! Grrrrr! She's biting my ankles! COS sent us an e-mail with the subject line "Hear Ye: Block 3 end of semester announcements" where she lays out no less than ten (10)

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-13906583814124387062006-04-26T20:37:00.000-06:002007-02-23T15:57:26.662-07:00

Class on Tuesday was another impossibly long day. We had quizzes in both classes and Misery Kate gave a review so we had to show up extra early before Coconut got there, and then we had to stay late in the afternoon even though the Amazon got done early with lecturing in Process. We had to wait around so COS could show up and make us sign these papers that have something to do with graduation.

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-91717676259486829962006-04-22T08:35:00.000-06:002007-04-06T11:50:45.327-06:00

Saturday morning. I made it through another week. I am aware of how whiny I've been lately, we had a discussion about that among our clinical group at the end of postconference yesterday. We're all feeling it, and Roger said he noticed how tired we all look. He only graduated from nursing school 7 years ago so he's not so far removed that he can't remember. He's been super nice and patient with

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-35179284808170421442006-04-19T14:19:00.000-06:002007-02-23T12:50:05.276-07:00

Yeah, that's what kind of a week it's been. Heads could be bitten off. Don't feed the animals. This week we got a ton of stuff dumped on us. First on Monday we had to be at the lab to get a demonstration on how to hang blood products and then more on IV meds. The Amazon didn't come to class, Denise the sociopath showed up and did the demo, and she's not quite as good of a teacher as the Amazon.

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-36030390544883446412006-04-13T19:51:00.000-06:002007-02-23T15:11:55.525-07:00

I am in such a bad place right now. Mentally I feel terrible about nursing. I hope I've hit bottom. I'm tired, I'm sick of studying, I'm pissed off about my teachers, and I'm not excited about future prospects for nursing at all. I see the fires of nursing hell burning ahead of me and I'm walking straight into it. I hope that there will be brighter days ahead and I hope they come soon because

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-90404580404847529822006-04-11T21:29:00.000-06:002007-02-21T19:03:43.382-07:00

Today was the longest day so far. Somehow a 7 and 1/2 hour day of class can feel longer than a clinical day. First we had the Assessment exam from hell with Misery Kate, and it turned out to be awful. I hope my good luck in taking exams helps me because there were so many questions that I wasn't even sure what she was asking. How can you choose the right answer when the question itself is

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-70314440333678464622006-04-08T10:26:00.000-06:002007-03-29T11:36:21.940-06:00

OMIGOD!It is Saturday morning and I feel like I have a hangover. I did not drink one drop of alcohol though. I slept 9 hours and it was not enough. I can't believe I still have to suffer through three more weeks of this hell this semester and then this summer it will be double. Two days in a row of this. IT SUCKS!This week has been so hard. I have been so tired. I think I need a break already. We

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-13301039907691591342006-04-04T19:54:00.000-06:002007-02-21T19:00:12.018-07:00

A short one today. I need to clear my fogged brain. I will have more exciting things to share, at least I hope I do, after clinical on Friday. Today was the pinnacle of suck. It doesn't get any suckier than this. Maybe having gallstones would suck worse, but this has to be pretty close. School is getting to the point where everyone is getting on each others nerves including the teachers. There

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5333987559024224767.post-17452260069258054422006-04-01T09:21:00.000-07:002007-03-01T14:53:23.148-07:00

Friday I was in telemetry, in the west unit which is an extension of the telemetry floor and it's where patients go if they are being monitored with any kind of device that needs to be constantly watched, usually cardiac monitoring, but sometimes they have people on vents there too. It was a lot of new stuff for me and it was interesting! I think I have found the solution to my need to get some

Jane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292213021790408742noreply@blogger.com0