Sunday, March 07, 2010
Hints of Summer
It was a beautiful weekend here, with the sun melting some of the snow and bringing everyone outside into the nice weather. Around town it seemed like everyone was out- people jogging, walking with their friends, shopping, and walking their dogs. Iola and I took a hike up to Strawberry Field behind campus to enjoy the sun and fresh air. Finally, some hint of warmer weather to come!
I received another welcome hint of summer the other day. I got the call that I was accepted into the Bassett Summer Nurse Internship Program for this summer! The position sounds perfect: full-time work schedule, shadowing an RN, practicing my nursing skills rather than just working as a patient care tech, getting experience on one floor with the support of the staff there, a few days’ experience on a different floor, taking a class once a week, plus getting paid! While I was hoping to spend some time at home this summer, I really feel ready to be immersed in nursing for 3 months. From what I’ve seen, very few summer programs will let you practice nursing as a student, and with the Magnet recognition at Bassett, I am really excited to get the experience there.
Despite the exciting weekend, there was still homework to be done. It’s hard to believe that the first round of tests is already upon us. Nursing Research on Monday and then Med-Surg II next week! In addition to studying this weekend, evaluating my clinical work from last week was on my to-do list. Last week was our first week ever having 2 patients at clinical. At first I was really scared, thinking that I would be up ALL NIGHT writing 2 careplans just to be overwhelmed on the floor the next morning. In reality, it was a struggle preparing for 2 patients and getting all of their information (labs, assessments, medications, ambulation, discharge plans, etc.), but it was also really fun to try and stay on top of everything that was going on during the shift. There was always something to keep me busy, and I learned so much. I was worried that I wouldn’t have time to think, but somehow I met my patients’ needs and even anticipated problems and worked proactively to resolve them. It was a great feeling to know I could handle it, and I actually enjoyed caring for both patients. But… what happens when I get 3 or 4 or 5 patients?? Only time and a lot of experience will tell!
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
What Is A Nurse?
I love clinicals. I never thought I would say that because my first year I was scared to death walking into a patient’s room. I have definitely come a long way! My favorite part of working in the hospital is being able to really get to know your patient. I had a patient say to me the other day, “I don’t know how you do it. Isn’t it hard taking care of all these sick people? It just seems so depressing.” Yes, nurses take care of sick people, but there is so much more to it. And the work is very rewarding, despite the challenges we face. Before nursing school, I didn’t realize how much science and anatomy nurses had to know. We really do have a large knowledge base. Nursing isn’t just changing the bed or rocking babies to sleep. Although the simple, daily tasks such as providing a bed bath to a patient are necessary, a baccalaureate prepared nurse understands the reasoning behind each task. The nurse knows the action, indication, and side effects of each medication. He/she is culturally competent and understands the importance of family and social support to the overall health of the patient. He/she collaborates with the doctor and pharmacologist about treatment options.
It’s really cool to see how central nurses are to patient care and the hospital as a whole. It’s definitely a challenging profession, and there are sad patient situations. But what a privilege to be able to serve, assist, and care for someone who is not able to do so for themselves. It definitely gives me perspective and I can’t wait to start working after I graduate!
Saturday, February 27, 2010
A Little Hartwick Spirit
Hartwick’s nursing class of 2011 is back in the USA! Those of us who went on the Transcultural Nursing J Term trip to Jamaica had an amazing time! I don’t even know how to begin telling all of our stories. Our main objectives while in Jamaica were to provide nursing care and education to rural families. We connected with Community Health Aides to introduce us to families, and then spent about 2 weeks with one particular patient and their family. As Catherine said, it truly was an amazing experience. The relationships we established while we were there will stay with all of us- relationships with each other, with our professors, and especially with the Jamaican people. I have already sent a package down to my patient, with pictures of her with her granddaughter and great-grandson. For those families without running water or electricity, a camera is not even a consideration, so it is my hope that these pictures will help capture an important and memorable time in my patient’s life.
It was so fun to get home and tell stories, give out souvenirs, and share my pictures. I have to agree with Catherine as far as favorite parts of the trip, but I loved Reich Falls and Blue Hole, local waterfall-climbing and swimming spots, much more than the touristy Dunn’s River Falls. At Blue Hole, you could jump off of a cliff into the pool of bright teal water below. I don’t know how far down it was, but I was proud of myself for taking the plunge. Reich Falls was perhaps better because we were really climbing up through the waterfall. It was incredibly beautiful, one of those places that you don’t think exists naturally anywhere in the world because it was too perfect. We walked up through the currents and in through little caves under the waterfalls. Like I said, incredible. And, as Catherine described before, the fluorescent bacteria in the bay at Glistening Waters was absolute magic. With every movement you glowed under the warm, salty water. Splashing made high spouts of light against the pitch black night. There are only five spots in the world where these bacteria live. Glistening Waters in Falmouth Jamaica is the brightest. To be honest, I plan to return to Jamaica just to do this again.
There are too many stories to tell all at once; I will have to add them to my blog throughout the semester, and maybe even post a few pictures. It is hard to look at those pictures now when it is so cold outside!! We have gotten about 2 feet of snow over the last few days, and Oneonta has been in a state of emergency. At first we as RAs had to worry about being responsible for residents if power-outages or water-main breaks occurred, but now that the intense weather appears to have passed, the campus has just been having fun. Everyone had to move their cars yesterday so that the parking lots could be plowed. My first thought was, “what a pain!!” but when I went outside to move my giant van, I found groups of students helping each other unbury their cars. As soon as I started work on mine, a crowd of my residents and their friends ran over to help me. Before I even knew who all was helping me, the van was cleared out. It took about 10 minutes total, which was seriously impressive for the drift of snow it was in. Just another amazing thing about the people at Hartwick- they can really band together to help others and never just think of themselves. As I drove my van around campus to a new parking spot, I saw the same thing at other dorms- people helping each other out. You can’t help but love the people at this school.
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