Clinical Supplemental

So this summer I decided I wanted to keep my skills up and hopefully learn new ones. I signed up for a clinical class at the county hospital under the direction of Prof Trauma. I was excited...still am. We will be doing two 12 hour shifts a week in the advanced med/surg unit (people coming out of the ICU and whatnot). Our first day, was a get to know the hospital and their orientation lecture. I had a hard time staying awake for the orientation. They gave us a bunch of information that I spent two years getting a degree in and then a bunch of numbers I hope I will never have to use. I also realized how incrediby inefficient the education office of the county hospital is. I realized within the first half hour, I could do the Nurse Education Coordinator's job better than she could. Plus there was something about her I didn't like, it didn't help that she told us that nursing students are not allowed to administer IV push medication. I thought that was a little ridiculous. Anyway, the first day was rather boring, but at least I had an idea of what to expect...a little bit of chaos and disorganization and paper charting. At lunch time, we get a fake set of labs and we are told to figure out what is wrong with our patient and what we are going to do about it. Its like 20 questions except REALLY HARD. I took the notes for the group and will post them. Please remember THIS IS NOT A REAL PATIENT THE PROF MADE THE LAB VALUES UP SO NO LAWS ARE VIOLATED!!! I can't believe how much I learned in a two hour period. I started a list of all the things I should start looking up.

The second day, half of our group was not even there and some of the people that were left early. So we got to spend the whole day in Trauma ICU!!!!!! It was the best day EVER. I was following a nurse who was constantly teaching me things (my list was pretty long by the end of the day), I followed rounds with med students, I watch the admittance of a new patient to the ICU, I did a ton of patient care! I had a patient with a broken neck. The Dr showed us the CT scan, this guy was LUCKY he could move and feel anything. Had a homeless guy that was severly beaten...he didn't like me much because I brushed his teeth, for some reason he didn't like that. And the new admit was a woman who was hit by a car, bilateral collapsed lungs, and a massive head injury that just kept bleeding. They had to hand drill a whole in her head so they could insert a pressure monitor into the ventricles of the brain. It was nuts!!! I was insane how the TICU nurses and staff worked as one unit it. Everyone knew what to do, everyone was calm and found something to be useful. They were a well oiled machine. I was impressed. I am really hoping I get to go down there again. We will see tomorrow.

Summer Plans

I know this blog moves quickly on the heels of my last, but I haven't really slept in the past few days and I am just counting down the hours until the packing comes out, then I will sleep! But for now, I thought if I announced my intentions for the summer I might actually get them done. So I am going to start with the things I know I WILL do!

1. Go to Hawaii and flop my fanny on the beach, stare at the ocean, and spend quality time with my honey bunny.
2. Go to Korea and enjoy my "after high school pack through Europe, but its really Korea to discover myself" experience.
3. Go to my sister-in-laws wedding and make myself useful.
4. Start and finish summer clinical
5. Spend time with nursing school friends

Now here are the things I would like to do:
1. Organize a group trip to Disneyland
2. Organize a spring break trip with my Nursing school peeps
3. Put together a petition to change the outter wear requirement while in uniform for nursing school (WHO IS WITH ME ON THIS???)
4. Work on my summer reading list:
   A History of the World in Six Glasses
   Beyond the Clouds
   Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
   Peony in Love
   The Vampire Chronicles
5. Spend quality time with my camera
6. Work out at least four times a week
7. Finish my quilt sampler
8. Learn a few phrases in Spanish (not happy about this goal but it seems I have no choice)
9. Work on my novel
10. See Eclipse...and other summer movies
11. Clean and organize my office and bedroom
12. Redecorate my house
13. Try to change my diet
14. go camping
15. work on my top secret novel!

So now that I have posted this publically, I might be able to adhere to it and feel like I did something with my summer.

Round Two Results!!!!!!!!!!

So after all the complaining and the torture (no Jeremy is not home yet) Round Two Results are as follows:

Maternity/Peds Lecture: B
Maternity/ Peds Lab: B
Patho/Pharm II: B
Peds Clinical: A

For those keeping score my GPA is now 3.34...So thus far no honor grad for me! I will make it up. (Maybe I should stop drinking soda cause it keeps getting up my nose and irratating my tubes). I am however putting in my petition to be the class speaker at pinning. I am funny, endearing, and I think generally liked by everyone (if not let me know and I will take you to dinner and you will change your mind, I am charming like that). Anyways, it goes without saying I am VERY happy this semester is over with...although I started my summer with surgery. Next week I start a summer clinical at the only major Truama unit in the city. I am hoping my clinical instructor likes me enough to rotate me to the ER for several days. I am really looking forward to learning from Prof Trauma. I worked hard this semester to keep my ATI scores up (placement scores for last semester preceptor) so I have a chance to work with her in my last semester. So here's hoping!