Peplau is Rolling In Her Grave

Today in my Nursing Fundamentals class we were discussing health and wellness. Most of us nursing students think of health and wellness as that of the patient. We also have to remember that health and wellness means ourselves to, both as future nurses and as nurses who are in the clinical practice. Burnout is something that a lot of people talk about and they talk about various reasons for feeling the symptoms of it. Nurses feel as if they get no credit for the work they do, they are stressed, they have a huge work load that is hard for them to deal with, they have a difficult patient. All of these are important factors that can lead to burnout. I know that I am no expert on this subject, I'm not even half a nurse yet, but from my observations I have seen one problem that can contribute to burnout. The problem is paperwork. How many nurses can say that they have spent more time looking at the computer than at the actual patient? I'm sure most of them. The nurses get frustrated because they have to help the patient with something, but they have to finish all the charting. I'm not saying that charting is a bad thing, it's absolutely essential when it comes to nursing care. I'm just saying that maybe there needs to be a change. Hildegard Peplau was the nurse who made the theory saying that the interaction between the nurse and the client is essential to the client's health. I'm sure they teach that all in nursing school, but does it really occur 100%on the floor? When does a nurse get to actually see their patients? During assessment, during med pass. Sorry, but that's about all I can think of. The nursing assistant is often times the one taking the patient to the bathroom and help with the other ADL's (Activities of Daily Living). So where is the reward in THAT? Don't we want to be nurses to make an impact and to see that change? Not just in the charts, but in the way the patient improves physically and psychologically. There is so much reward when getting to know a patient. I think that there would be so much less unhappiness, stress and burnout if the nurses would get their noses off the computer screen and into the patient's room. What ways can we help to keep that from happening? If you have any opinions, ideas, or comments, please share!
Thanks for reading!

So Much More Than You May Think

It's been a week since my last post. Before the nursing program I had no idea that school could be so hard. Have I been living in La-La Land or what? In one week I was expected to read 4 chapters for my pathophysiology (the study of disease) class and 6chapters for my nursing fundamentals class!! Let me tell you now, I have about half of it done... I spent my whole weekend studying for Patho and then realized on Monday that I hadn't read anything for my NUR 110 class. Despite the fact that the work load is so heavy, I am very excited about what it to come. :) I am taking an orientation class that is for the clinicals that will be in October. So far we have talked about what steps are included in passing oral medications. Now, you may think that passing meds is just, "Hi, here is your medication, take it." But it is so much more complex than that. You have to check the medication three times, correct medication, correct dosage, etc and you have to make sure you have your seven rights: right patient, right medication, right dosage, right time, right route, Right documentation and right reason. We have patients who scream at the nurse for not giving them their meds faster, but there is a lot of preparation in giving medicine. Nurses have to check for any allergies that the patient may have. Is the patient allergic to Furosemide? If they are, then they cannot get the Lasix that was precribed to them. Mistakes like these CAN occur, there can be multiple doctors working with one patient and sometimes there is no layover when it comes to passing information to a patient. Another thing to remember is that a nurse should always listen to the patient. The patient knows what they take at home, if they look at the nurse and say, "what is this pink pill? I always take a purple one." The nurse should always go back and check the orders. The med pass seems like such a simple thing, but nurses have a huge responsibility and need to do it right!

Day 1 and 2

So, finally I'm back. I started school on Monday. My first class was Pathophysiology. I really like my professor so far. He is entertaining, but he knows how to get to the point when he's teaching. I have a feeling this is going to be a very hard class. I loved physiology, but when I was taking it, it was the only class I had to worry about. This semester I have four classes, so I'm going to have to work my butt off in each and every one. We mostly went over the syllabus and then the professor lectured. Most of the material that he lectured on isn't even going to be on the test. It's a little bit confusing. After my patho class I had a Nursing 112 class. It is a lab class that prepares the students for their clinicals. Basically it was just an orientation on Monday. The nursing educators talked to us about the basic things, what books we will need, and we looked at the uniforms. These uniforms are $54 just for the TOPS! Thank goodness we aren't required to buy the bottoms as well. On Tuesday I had my Nursing Fundamentals class. I think I'm really going to like that class. The book is a bit wordy, but so far I don't mind reading it. Students who have gotten into this program before me told me and other students that there is a lot of reading in the class. I didn't really know what they were talking about until I went to class this week. Now I have about 3 chapters of reading for EACH class!!! On top of that they would like us to read ahead! I already feel like I'm getting behind. I've started working the day shift at the hospital,so it doesn't give me a chance to study at all. I'm going to have to work extra hard! Wish me luck! I'm going to need it!
Thanks for reading!!!

More to Come

I just wanted to update you. I will probably write tomorrow, but with school starting I have been so busy I haven't had the time to write a new post! Sorry guys! I promise there is more to come!!!

Homework, Homework, and more Homework

So nursing school doesn't start until Monday, but I already have ASSIGNMENTS!!! Before my nursing fundamentals class begins I have to read three chapters and complete assignments in the study guide. I don't mind it too much. It gives me something to do. The book that we are using in the Nursing Fundamentals class is called Fundamentals of Nursing by Potter and Perry. I'm not sure if any of my readers used or are using the same book. If so, is it a good book? Some text books are easy to read and some are so wordy that it is hard to get my head around. I believe I also have assigned reading for my Pathophysiology class, but I have to double check on that. I've been working a lot, so it has been difficult for me to find time to do these readings. I'm almost done with chapter 1... I know I will make sure to do these assignments before the school year begins. That gives me four more days to do it all. But I have time off of work, so I think I should be okay. Before the school year starts, all of the nursing students need to get a physical exam, TB test, Titers drawn, etc. Thankfully I talked to a nurse and she said that I don't have to do any of it besides the TB test because I got it all done for the job that I started in March. If you don't know already, I work as a PCT (Patient Care Tech.) at a hospital. Learning that I don't have to get the physical exam and the other things gets a lot off my shoulders. Those things can amount to a lot of money. I still have things that I need to buy, like the scrubs... and an expensive practice kit... But all this is going to be worth it! Nurses are paid well and they are needed! I am so excited for school to start on Monday! I just have to get this homework done.
Thanks for reading! I appreciate all your feedback!

Sometimes the Little things Are What Make All the Difference

The other day I was at work and one of the patients was having a very hard time falling asleep. She wanted a sleeping pill and I told her I would ask her nurse, then I looked at her. Maybe the fact that she couldn't get to sleep was due her positioning in bed. She was unable to move around very well. She was laying in a very awkward position. I asked her if she was comfortable and she shook her head, telling me "no, but I don't want to be a pest". I told her it was no problem and had someone help me pull her up in bed and we situated the pillows around her so that she was more comfortable. She sighed with relief and told me I was a lifesaver (that always makes me chuckle when someone tells me that.) I turned out her light and pretty soon she was asleep. The point of this story is to say that sometimes all a patient needs is to have a pillow situated better under their head, or the wrinkles to be straightened out of the draw sheet underneath them. Before throwing medication at someone we need to think, is there anything else we can do for them? Patients feel ten times better when they are clean and comfortable. We need to keep that in mind. When cleaning a patient, we need to do the job well. If we don't their skin can break down. When giving a patient a bath, give them warm washclothes, it's more comfortable. Let them wash their face, give them as much dignity as possible. When helping a patient to a chair, make sure that they are comfortable. Ask the patient if there is anything that you can get them before you go. It saves trips of going back and forth to the room. These little things that we do for the patients, like getting them a fresh pitcher of ice water, can make all the difference. So, yes, in nursing we really should "sweat the small stuff." It can make all the difference.

Practice Makes Prepared

I know it has been a while, but I really don't have too much to write about until school starts offcially on August 23rd. I have a lot of stuff to do before then, but it's really just the boring stuff (ie. Physical Exams, online inservice things, paperwork, etc.) But I did have to take a little bit of a test last week. I didn't want to write about it until everyone had taken it. It wasn't too bad of a test. The weeks prior, I had to practice basic skills like Transfering a patient, Ambulating (walking)with a patient, oral care, height and weight of a patient, taking a patients vital signs (blood pressure, Temperature, pulse, respirations)and those other basics. I was really nervous about the test while I was practicing, but once I got in the room and performed my skills, I was feeling confident. Now, I don't believe that practice necessarily makes perfect, but I do believe it makes prepared. I know a few people who hadn't practiced before the test because they thought they already knew what they were doing. The test didn't very well for them. They recieved slips of paper that stated that they had to practice the skills more. even though my performance during the test wasn't great, the teacher smiled and told me that I passed. She had known that I had been preparing for weeks. Being a student means that we need to humble ourselves. We are not at the top of the mountain, we are probably much closer to the bottom than we think. Yes, I made it into the nursing program, la-ti-da, but I have two years of this terror to get through. For those nursing students who still have an attitude going into the program, I am sure they will learn in time that its not all about the brains, it has just as much to do with the outlook, the enthusiasm, and the curiosity. We can't go into a test like that, not having studied at all, thinking that we know all the answers. We need to realize, we may not know, we need to practice. Chances are, the teachers may give you a heads-up, they may tell you what is going to be on the test, or what to eliminate. Practicing before the test gave me a chance to prepare, but it also gave me a chance to get to know a few of my teachers. I am really glad that I had done that, otherwise I don't think I would have done too well. Being a little bit humble, and even a little bit nervous will do no harm. It will most likely make you a more practiced and skilled nursing student. Thanks for reading.

Making the Grade

I know that they say that we should all try to conserve, recycle, reuse. Don't get me wrong, I do agree with that notion. Except when it comes to school. One semester while I was taking Human Anatomy, I used my computer to take notes. Let me tell you, it didn't go too well. In order for me to learn, I have to write things down on a piece of paper, in different colors. After I take my notes, I go back and look through the book. Any important points that were not covered during class or that I failed to note, I write down on a post-it note and stick it in my notebook. If my notes are in one color it looks too boring for me to read and I start skipping lines when I am studying. I understand that everyone has a different way of studying. I am sure that there are better and easier ways for me to learn. The nursing program is going to be long and difficult, the way I have been taking my notes may not work out. I will take notes the way I have been, but I am taking more classes than I was before and I know that I will have to come up with new strategies. I am interested in how you study! What do you do to memorize the points that you have to know for a test? How do YOU make sure you pass?

Getting Started

So, school is going to start in less than a month. I have a whole list of things today before my first semester as a nursing student! I am excited, but the cost of getting there is almost frightening. There are about ten books that I have to have before school starts. Thankfully there is amazon.com and I bought them all for half the original cost. Ten text books? Why do we need so many? I believe my first semester only consists of four classes. My goodness. If anyone is going through the process of entrance into a nursing program, be forwarned. There is a lot more to do than just buying books. I have to get a physical examination, my CPR certification is about to expire, I have to buy a nursing kit (I'm not sure what exactly is in the kit), I have to buy a stethescope (poopoo, those are a bit pricey), and of course my scrubs for clinicals at the hospital. The scrubs that I have to purchase are $54 per top. That is really expensive! And then I have to get the bottom, I have no idea ho much that is going to cost! But, do I really wanna know? I'm sure there is going to be lots more to buy before the first week of classes end. The teachers will probably add a few more books and supplies to the never-ending list of things to purchase. One thing I love to do is back-to-school shopping. I love the look of clean notebooks, ready to take on the struggles and scribbles of the year. I love taking notes, so I have a ton of supplies to get me organized (notebooks, colored pens, TONS of post-it notes, markers). Although, I think I have to start taking notes a bit differently. I tend to take a long time when I am taking my notes. They are extremely neat, ink in four different colors, and the pages are covered in every shape, size and color of sticky-tabs. It looks nice, and it helps me remember things, but it takes me too long. I have my notebooks, I have my pens. I am ready for the first battle, semester number, my freshman semester in nursing school. In the college I am going to, there are four semesters. Although I will be a sophomore (I haven't taken enough classes to have junior standing), I will be a freshman in nursing school. I am ready to take this head on! After I get the preliminaries out of the way.

Got Nurse?

Hello, this is my first post for my second blog. If you haven't read my first blog, you should. It's about yoga. A completely different subject than nursing, but still worth the read. In my opinion anyway. I am twenty years old and starting the nursing program at the community collegenear my home. It is a two year program that will qualify me to work as an RN, I won't have my bachelor's degree, I will have to go somewhere else for that, but I will be able to work in a hospital. I am soooo excited about this program! But I am also scared. I want to write this blog throughout my two years at school to share with other people, especially other nursing students about nursing school. The first thing that I would like to address is that a lot of people decide that they will go for nursing. One thing that I want to point out is, you have to know that you want to be a nurse. I wouldn't be surprised if it is the toughest job in the world. Ask any nurse if their job is easy and they will laugh at you. Anyone who wants to be a nurse should go and get a job in a hospital as a Patient Care Tech. It's like nursing, except that PCT's don't do paperwork, and they do more of the lifting and pulling than the nurses do. If you want to be a good nurse you have to be: Patient (patients require a heck of a lot of patience), caring, willing (to work hard, extra hours, etc.), fast, reasonable, strong (if you are a cripple, maybe try for med school... not to be mean, its just that heavy lifting is a requirement), able to take strong smells and keep a straight face, have a firewall in your head (it's hard not to cry when a patient runs out of their room swearing at you), look at a computer for long periods of time, sit for long periods of time, smile (it makes the job easier), fast thinking. This list could go on and on. Although I am not a nurse yet, I work at a hospital and I work with the nurses, I see what they do, I help them with their job. Remember, you're back is probably going to hurt a lot. Get used to it. No, just kidding, really try to prevent any back injury. So many healthcare workers have back problems because of their job. But so many of these nurses love their job. If you don't think you're going to like it, then I suggest you choose a different career. If you are ready to take on the hardest job in the world, then we're in the same boat! I am so excited for this blog and these next to years! Here's to helping people through the good times and bad! Cheers!