Sunday, September 19, 2010
Clinical 2
I have so much work to do today!! I love nursing school. I laughed to my self last Friday when I went in to help a patient and he angrily instructed me to, "Bring me that trash can. I need to throw this stuff away." so I did as he requested. He was on contact isolation so I was covered with the gown and gloves. He then looked at me with disgust and said, "What are you a tec?". I responded without hesitation that I was a nursing student. His whole demeanor changed instantly. He apologized for making do "menial tasks". I was looking for things to do so it had not bothered me at all. I could not help but feeling a little surprised at the ease with which he would have mistreated me if I was not a nurse in training. It will be important when we become nurses to consider the way all of the staff we work with is being treated and make sure to always approach all of our coworkers with the utmost respect, because our patients will most likely emulate the attitudes that we demonstrate.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Clinical
I really enjoyed the first clinical. I had a particularly interesting resident so I think that I got off pretty easy. I will definitely be going back to see him. I also think that as a nurse I would enjoy working with elder populations. The end of life can be really difficult and lonely, so it would probably be really rewarding to work with the elderly.
Time to study for midterms!!! Gotta run.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Skills
The second week of school has thought me a few things:
1. Do not be over confident in my math skills. (Also do not rush on quizzes.)
2. There will be a lot of time spent practicing fundamental skills on my own.
3. Other people will not understand if you prioritize school above tragedy.
4. Cancer is now even with burning on the list of ways I do not want to die.
Watching someone close to me die of cancer is by far the most depressing experience of my life. In fact I can see now why people claim that they would rather, 'live fast and die young'.
As you watch someone transition over the course of six months from uncomfortable to writing in agony it provides plenty of think time about how you want to go your self. I suppose that most people hope to live a long life and die in their sleep. Some hope to lose their mind first while others want their body to shut down with a mind fully intact. None of us get to choose how it goes so I guess there is no need to dwell, but when staring death in the face it's hard not to consider.
I have also learned that different people handle things in different ways but there is a lot of strain put on entire families when people have a terminal illness. No one wants for them to be abandoned at hospice, but it is affects a person to sit and watch a dying friend fade in and out of consciousness according to pain level. No one person can handle the load. We as nurses should also be mindful of the profound pain the loved ones are experiencing as we administer treatment to our patients. I'm sure there are other people in class who have been affected by cancer and to all of those I wish you my deepest sympathy and respect.
Sorry this was a sombre blog. Next week will hopefully be better.
1. Do not be over confident in my math skills. (Also do not rush on quizzes.)
2. There will be a lot of time spent practicing fundamental skills on my own.
3. Other people will not understand if you prioritize school above tragedy.
4. Cancer is now even with burning on the list of ways I do not want to die.
Watching someone close to me die of cancer is by far the most depressing experience of my life. In fact I can see now why people claim that they would rather, 'live fast and die young'.
As you watch someone transition over the course of six months from uncomfortable to writing in agony it provides plenty of think time about how you want to go your self. I suppose that most people hope to live a long life and die in their sleep. Some hope to lose their mind first while others want their body to shut down with a mind fully intact. None of us get to choose how it goes so I guess there is no need to dwell, but when staring death in the face it's hard not to consider.
I have also learned that different people handle things in different ways but there is a lot of strain put on entire families when people have a terminal illness. No one wants for them to be abandoned at hospice, but it is affects a person to sit and watch a dying friend fade in and out of consciousness according to pain level. No one person can handle the load. We as nurses should also be mindful of the profound pain the loved ones are experiencing as we administer treatment to our patients. I'm sure there are other people in class who have been affected by cancer and to all of those I wish you my deepest sympathy and respect.
Sorry this was a sombre blog. Next week will hopefully be better.
| “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” | |
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