Shocking episode at work!

Nursing is a field where you really need to put your biases aside. You see and deal with all types of people and it is really important not to let your own personal beliefs get in the way of the care that you give to your patients. I saw some serious bias the other night and I was so shocked by this nurses behavior.

The patient was very large and edematous from a non functioning liver. An alcoholic, the patient had end stage liver disease and some serious electrolyte issues. The patient was coughing up blood and having black diarrhea and a GI bleed. Not a pretty picture. This patient had so much excess fluid they had blisters on their feet. I Have never seen anything like it in my life. Going through withdrawal from alcohol, the patient was nearly impossible to understand. Well, this patient required a lot of care and assistance was needed by many to be able to turn them to clean them up about every hour on the hour. I really like the nurse that was taking care of this patient. I witness this nurse giving excellent care on every shift I have ever worked with her. There were two of us assisting her in cleaning the patient up when the patient became combative. Oh I forgot to mention his scrotum, which was the size of a cantalope (no lie!) biggest scrotum I have ever seen. I'm not sure why but he had some skin tears on his scrotum (ouch). He was in a lot of pain and confused from the withdrawal. Well, the nurse smacked him on the leg and yelled, "stop it!" then - she proceeded to say "I hate alcoholics, they are just going to go back and start drinking when they leave!" Man, I was shocked and thought about what I should do about this. I wanted to tell the charge nurse but she was the charge nurse. What the hell - I felt bad for the guy.

I hope and pray I never do anything like that.

14 weeks

I just started my last semester of nursing school! 14 weeks to go. I am scared and excited. I am overwhelmed. We are starting the semester out with psych, although we have no clinical in psych and then onto critical care. This is goign to be a busy semester as there are numerous tests and we should all be doing NCLEX questions to get ready for the big test in the end. Wish me luck!

Recap Spring 2008

I have done a bad job of keeping up with this blog this semester. The semester of OB Peds seemed like kind of a vacation but I spent an awful lot of it feeling guilty about the work that I did not do. I tried really hard to do the readings but they were really unrealistic. I scathed by with a 89.47 - ridiculous - 3/100th away from an A-. I'm embarrassed. I made the worst grade ever on a final for me - 84 - spring fever had been hitting hard and I have been unable to turn down the allure of the outside for studying (although I would usually have my books with me, just got distracted by the lovely spring). Done now! Some highlights of the semester -

Live birth witnessed!
Awesome Pedi clinical instructor!
Got to play with darling babes!
Bonded with my nursing friends! Friends for life!
Lost 20 pounds and started exercising and liking it!
Feeling confident as a nurse (some of the time)

So much more. I am off for a little vaca and will be back for the last and final fling of this thing called nursing school!

ALIVE and KICKING

Like the 80's song!

Tomorrow is the final and I am ready to kick the finals ass! One more semester to go. I'll do a semester wrap up later this week when all is said and done. Hope everyone out there in blogland is having a great semester!

Beginning life or ending life

Next semester I have my clinical on an oncology floor. I picked it. I still don't know what draws me that way. Maybe because my stepfather died of cancer. It will be an incredible experience.

Anyway, the title of the post. I am trying to decide what kind of nursing to do. I like the idea of the ED because I love change. I get bored easily. I like the idea of oncology and L and D as well. I love the newborns. I guess I can do it all. Who knows where I will end up. I was just thinking of it earlier in the context of life beginning or ending and helping people die with dignity and respect. We'll see. There are a lot of possibilities out there.

Pedis and parents

My pedi rotation is going O.K. I don't think peds is for me. The style of nursing is very different than caring for the adult population. Sure, kids are cute and sweet and all and I adore the infants, but... the parents. The parents are there taking care of their kiddos. The nurses administer meds and treatments and that's about all. For the most part. I had an interesting kiddo last night. In for dehydration but had a history of Irritable Bowel Syndrome and ended up with an ostomy. Not fun for a youngster. Not fun for anyone. Anyway, this kid also needs a liver transplant. The situation just blows big time. I had to give the child some meds by mouth and he had already fallen asleep. Well lets just say that he does not like to wake up. His dad screaming and yelling at him, in front of me, loudly so others come in the room. Uncomfortable. And I feel bad for the sick child. I did'nt know how to handle the situation. It was my first of the kind and I don't find it right for a student nurse to try to tell the child's parent what to do. Next time I have to though, it was not right. I know dad and child are stressed but no need in yelling at him because he would not wake up and swallow the meds. For those of you wondering where my instructor was, he was not with me. He checked the meds and told me I could go in the room and give them. I love the little kids but yeah, not for me.

IV Meds

Why, oh why do IV meds freak me out so? I get to my first pedi clinical yesterday and have a patient on IV meds. My guess is a lot of the pedi kids in the hospitals need IV meds. They are sick after all. I have not given a lot of IV meds and the fact that it has been at least 4 monthes since I have given IV meds makes me so green. I need to do something repetitively to get it and I just have not gotten that in clinicals. I think I might get my chance to get proficient this semester. I hope so anyway. I don't get what my hangup is with it. I guess I'm afraid I'll get air in the line or something. Got to find a way to get over it.

I did OK with it. My instructor is cool and said I did fine except when I shot some of the flush on the mom because I was shaking so bad trying to flush the line. It was comic relief. I'm so retarded I forgot to make sure there was no air in the flush before I flushed the line before I administered the med. The air thing scares me see? I'm really not retarded but it was funny.

*UPDATE* I worked with a nurse tonight at work who let me hang some fluids for more practice. Feeling better now.