Weeks 6 & 7 of Nursing School (2nd Year)

The last two weeks have been a blur.  There was a massive 52 page paper to hand in, a skill testing presentation, and a slew of exams.  The exams continue on this week, in addition to a group presentation.  It's a lot of work!

Switching to Maternity
My social life has dwindled down and my poor sweetheart is neglected (tsk-tsk), but there was a teensy break this weekend.  We are switching over from the surgical rotation to the maternity rotation so there was no clinical this week.  This week I will be in the maternity ward - oh, I am so excited!

At first I was terrified.  "Oh no!" I thought, "I am going to drop a baby on it's head FOR SURE!"  The parents will relay to the child with sad eyes about how the student nurse, Marie, had slippery hands and dropped him right on his noggin.  He'll probably sustain brain damage, and sue me for every non-penny I have.

But, little by little, I began to anticipate being able to see these little squirming bundles of fat and cuteness.  Babies are the best!  Of course, I'm a little biased right now because I saw my friend's baby this weekend and he's an exceptionally awesome baby  :)

The Best of Surgery
Still, I will miss working in surgery.  It has been a very good experience.  I had a really good teacher that taught me a lot, and I was fortunate to work with many nurses that took time out to show me procedures and other cool things.  I also got to try out lots of new skills, such as removing staples on surgical wounds, hanging IV bags, taking out a urinary catheter, giving injections, flushing IV saline locks, and changing wound dressings. It has been neat!

The patients have been a lot more mobile and active than last semester (geriatrics), and it has been exciting to see them get well and to go home.  If you ever get hospitalized, remember to try and start moving as soon as you can safely do so.  It keeps your blood moving around so that you don't get blood clots and bed sores, and you'll heal faster!  You'll also suffer less complications like the dreaded constipation.

One patient said to me in awe, "Why are all these people lying around in bed?  They need to GET UP and start walking!  They'll never get better by lying around like that!"  That patient was an inspiration, and she got better a lot faster than my textbook estimated.  I was proud of her!

Well, I better get back to my studying.

I hope you have a great week!