Pumpkins and Acorns In Progress

It was the last day of my preceptorship today and it was a very good day.  Somehow, everything went smoothly.  In the morning the night shift nurses wished me good luck and congratulations on being done my nursing program soon, and at the end of the day the nurses on my shift gave me hugs and well wishes too.  In between, the patients seemed to be in a good mood too.  The ones that overheard that it was my last day had wonderful things and good wishes for me too.  It was fantastic.

 I went home and settled into a dream-like state.  "Wow, I thought.  I'm finally done."

I washed my uniform and settled down at my desk.  It was time to paint again.

 Soon my desk was covered with little orange gourds.

 They are not done in the least, but they look fun.

My fingertips turned orange as they got stained from turning the pumpkins around.  Good thing the paints are water soluble and wash off easily.

 The little ornaments that got painted the most were two acorns.

 I think I got a bit carried away.

 I managed to take advantage of the streaking look to create the acorn nuts.  The caps got royal treatment too and turned out nicely.  They look very textured.

I am quite happy with these two acorns.  I can't wait to give them a clear coat once they are dried.

Happy creating!

Nursing Preceptorship - Maggot Therapy

I haven't written much about my preceptorship experience this semester, but I thought I'd give you an update on what has been happening.

Hard Work

First of all, it is hard work being a nurse!  I used to think it was manageable or maybe even easy to be a nurse.  We just take care of patients, right?  It couldn't be that hard?  You see them hanging around the nursing station and they look like they are just chilling out, right?  Well, apparently chilling out is actually "I'm so tired I can't even stand up anymore".

After working a nurse's full time schedule for a couple months, I am so exhausted.  My feet hurt after a 12 hour shift, and they still hurt the next morning when I wake up.  I'm on my feet all day running around.  Just when I think I might be caught up on my duties, someone will literally have a heart attack or suddenly be unable to breathe properly.  I end up calling the doctor, calling the respiratory therapist... the whole team ends up helping to make sure the patient lives through that moment.

The problem with being a student is that so much is new and unfamiliar.  I might have read about what to do in an emergency situation, but being in the middle of a real emergency situation is very different.  Sometimes, I feel overwhelmed over just how little I know, but how much I need to know in order to efficiently and capably handle what needs to be done.  I'm so thankful the nurses on my ward are so supportive and encouraging to me.

Cool Experiences That Freak Other People Out (i.e., Maggot Therapy)

Another cool thing about the place where I'm working is that the wound care nurse is super smart and loves to teach the students.  I love asking her questions because she is full of great information and she does not make you feel bad about wanting to know more.  I'd had the opportunity to learn a lot about different kinds of wound care products, what to use, what not to use, and I even got to see maggot therapy.

Maggot therapy is something I learned about in school that I've been dying to find out more about.  Maybe thanks to working in an insect lab in university, I have a particular curiosity about bugs.  So the thought of using fly babies to make wounds heal faster and better is amazing.

When I found out that a patient was undergoing maggot therapy, my eyes were probably glowing.  I rushed over to observe the wound care nurse tend to a very deep and big wound that she had placed maggots into.  I found out that the wound used to be a giant black, dead area of flesh.  The wound care nurse had cut away all the black tissue and then cleaned out the rest of the wound as best as possible, but it was apparently all pus filled and nasty for a while.

When she introduced the maggots, the tiny baby maggots began to eat away at all the dead flesh.  They don't touch healthy flesh, so they basically target only the bad stuff.  Little by little, the maggots got bigger and the wound got healthier.  By the time I saw it that day, all I could see was healthy pink tissue.

There was still some dead tissue, so the wound care nurse put new tiny maggots into the wound and used a special "cage" dressing to trap the maggots inside while still letting moisture get out.

She told us about how sometimes the wrong kind of dressing gets put on the wound during a dressing change and the moisture cannot escape.  The maggots start to drown in the wound so they will try to escape.  That's when a huge commotion might result from people that do not love medical maggots.  Sometimes the patient will freak out, more likely the nurse and visitors will freak out.

Thankfully, the patient seemed to find maggot therapy fascinating as well.  I guess you have to be pretty open-minded to agree to maggot therapy in the first place.

Meanwhile, one of the nurses was practically having a heart attack when I picked up a maggot with a gloved hand to show the other student, and helped the patient take photos with her phone camera.  I think the maggot had escaped from the original batch that was put in because it was much bigger.  I guess maggot therapy is not for everyone, but boy is it interesting.

Anyhow, it was a good experience for me.

Here's a great video by National Geographic on how maggot therapy was used to help a diabetic patient.

Here's another video about how maggot therapy helped to save a person from losing their leg.


I hope you have a great week!
 

The Last Semester of Nursing School

Believe it or not, four years of nursing school is almost over!  I am starting my eighth and final semester.

Last Semester
I had a rough time last semester.  I was almost failing my research course and I didn't realize it until after the midterm because the first paper wasn't marked until after the midterm.  When I found out, I was shocked and horrified.  Apparently I didn't understand the requirements of the first paper and had done it wrong.
I should have learned from my mistake in Pathophysiology (where I got zero on a paper for using the wrong kind of article), but apparently old habits die hard.

Well, I worked VERY hard after that rude awakening.  I worried to no end and studied as hard as I could.  My teacher received regular visits from me so I could make sure I was doing the final paper properly, and I did all the practice tests that I could get my hands on.

My hard work eventually paid off and I finished the course with a tidy B-.  Somehow my obsessive studying passed over to the other course as well and I got an A+ in the other course.  That's my first A+ in the nursing program.  I was so delighted.

Getting Fat
The downside of obsessive studying is that I probably sat and studied for hours at a time without moving much.  I may or may not have also soothed my worried with delicious snacks.  I managed to gain five pounds.  Oops.  So much for exercising and being healthy.

So of course the New Year is busy with trying to remedy a new problem, and I have been watching my Netflix shows while pedaling away on a stationary bike  :)  It is surprisingly satisfying to finish both exercising and catching up on shows at the same time.  I also enjoy writing the time I spent on exercising each day on the calendar.

The Preceptorship
So the final semester has finally begun.  My classmates and I have been assigned to different hospital wards and we each have a preceptor nurse.  We will be working with these nurses based on their normal nurse schedules and gradually learn to take on their full workload.  The goal is to practice being a real nurse with a real nurse schedule.

I did a shorter version of a preceptorship a few semesters back on an orthopedic (bone) ward.  This time I will be on a Medicine ward.

Other than working a normal nurse's schedule, we are going to be studying for the Registered Nurse licensing exam in June.

Positive Start
I am pretty excited about this semester.  My instructor seems pretty nice and I am looking forward to meeting my preceptor.  I will be working in a hospital that I have never worked in before, so I'm excited about that too.

I hope you will all have a lovely weekend.

Take care!

Week 2 of Semester 7 - Stress Pie

So here I am eating my foot just like I said I might...

I thought this semester would be only as hard as the other semesters.  However, I was wrong.  This semester is ACTUALLY harder than the other semesters.  

So far, I leave my Tuesday class feeling like my brain is going to explode.  No matter how much I read, I feel like I have no idea what the teacher is talking about all class.  It's like she's speaking another language!

Sometimes just when I think I am following along okay, she changes the topic.  Then I have to race to catch up again.  It never ends.

It's okay though, I keep telling myself.  The semester will be over soon!  I think there is something wrong when you can't hardly wait for it to end right after it starts.  That's quality education for you!

An awkward moment this week was when a woman asked a group of my classmates how they felt about the nursing program we are in.  "Is it a good program?" she asked.  Everyone was silent. Finally, someone said slowly,  "It's okay..." with a long, questionable note at the end.  

I don't think any of us love our school and program right now.  It's just not love.

Anyhow, it's pointless to rant.  It won't save me from my bottomless pit of confusion.  I have to just stay focused and work really hard!  Right?  

Of course, I'd really rather do anything than study right now.  Just the thought of my homework and readings makes me feel like eating chocolate, ice cream, and anything really fattening and delicious.

Sigh...  Even the banana is sad.

Well, if you want something to cry about, here's a really sad video.  I bawled after it.  Partially cuz I'm a sap, partially cuz I'm feeling overwhelmed.

Have a better week!

Week 1 of Semester 7 - No, not again!

I can't believe I'm back to school AGAIN already.  I didn't even tell you about my vacation yet and it's already back to school.

Change and Research
The theme of this semester is change and research.  I don't know much about these two topics yet, but the gist seems to be that we will do a big project all semester long that will create change in a community organization.  We will also learn about how to be smart consumers of scientific research and how research is important to nursing practice.

I Like To Ride My Bicycle
Confined to endless textbook readings, I have re-rigged a way to prop my textbook up on my stationary bike.  I hope this will help me to stay "active" while having no choice but to read ALL DAY LONG.

The teachers are warning us that this semester will be brutal and that we can say good bye to our social life.  They even said that we can't listen to music or watch TV while doing homework.

Fear Mongering
When I listen to them talk in class about how hard this semester will be, I imagine them as jailers telling us to say goodbye to our freedom.  It is actually kind of scary how much they are trying to make us feel anxiety so we will hopefully stay on track this semester.

I wonder if they are right or whether they are exaggerating a tad bit.  I mean, EVERY semester is hard.  If this one is hard, it's no different, right?  Every semester I say goodbye to my freedom.  Why is this one suddenly different?

I think this semester will be no more difficult than when I took the extra elective course in semester 6.  I aced that elective course too.  I think I'll just have to work equally hard.  But, of course, I'll probably eat my foot later...

Language
The language in this semester is different, says our teacher.  In other words, the language of our textbooks this semester is MORE BORING.

I almost died just trying to get through Chapter 1.  I think it was supposed to be one of the easier chapters to read, but it's the kind of textbook where your mind wants to wander because it can't comprehend why it took so many words to say something so simple.  Other times, I just wonder why I need to know so many small details.

Why can't I just get a summary?

But of course if I memorize the general idea, they are going to test me on the details.  It always happens.  I should know better by now...

Negativity?
Do I sound negative?  Yes!  Of course I do.  But it's for a good reason.  It's because my vacation was so good and I miss it already  :)  Please, please let it be vacation time again.

I don't want it to be school time already!  I just wanna go back to my big boat, eating tasty foods, saying hello to Mickey Mouse...

You see how upset Donald Duck is?  It's like I was leaning over the rail enjoying the view and someone shoved me overboard onto Vancouver soil  :P  

Alas, there is no point in complaining.  If I work very hard, it will be vacation time soon enough.  My classmates tell me that I will be finished my nursing program in 8 months!  That is indeed not a very long time. 

I can do it!  I hope you are having a good time wherever you are.