On a lighter note...

My thoughts have been a little heavy the past couple of weeks, as you might notice from my previous post.  So to lighten the mood a little, I wanted to share this video that I first saw posted by a fellow nursing student on Twitter.  

If you are not a nurse, or nursing student, the humor may escape you.  I have included the video for my new favorite song by the Local Natives below, just for you!  It seems kind of appropriate in regards to the uncertainty I feel as Senior Integrated Practicum (Fall) and Graduation (December) fast approaches.  Hope you enjoy!

Reflections

There are many times during nursing school that I have felt so totally incompetent, that I believed I truly would never know enough to be a nurse.  But there are also those times when I think, "Hey, it's okay.  I've got this!"  And so it goes, the roller coaster of self doubt and self confidence.  I imagine it will be that way well into my career.  I can't imagine a day going by without learning something new.

I've been on the transplant floor for my Med/Surg II clinical rotation.  I find it extremely challenging, and at the same time, reaffirming my decision to pursue this career.  Although transplant was not my first choice, I have enjoyed it very much and I learn so much every day.  I have seen a lot of liver and kidney transplant patients, and I feel like the complications of their illnesses give me a good systems perspective on the "big picture" of disease and how the deficiency of one organ can affect everything else in the body and the person.  

I have found that there is a unique aspect of psych nursing to transplants that I am not always prepared for.  It's an interesting dynamic - the life of one person depending on the death (or at least major surgery) of another. And what about the person who is in need of a transplant because of their own actions (e.g. alcoholic liver cirrhosis)?  Man I thought OB was full of ethical dilemmas...

But the most devastating situation I've encountered is a patient in need of a transplant through no fault of their own, who became too sick to accept the organ even if one were to become available.  I was almost sick hearing the attending physician explain to the family that the patient probably would not live long enough to recover and receive the long-awaited organ.  I wondered again as I have often wondered,  
why do such bad things happen to such good people?  
I will always remember that patient  - how they held my hand and thanked me for my help even at the end of life.  And though I felt totally helpless, and my heart was breaking for this family, I was glad to have known them.

But as I consider working in rural medicine, I wonder - would I be able to provide the same care for people that I know and love?  Would I have been able to hold it together if that had been a friend of mine?  I remember my Mom telling me once that she hated being an EMT in the county that we're from, because she knew everybody that she was called to help.  A good friend who is a Nurse Practitioner in the same county told me, "You just do it.  You do what you know how to do, then you break down later."

I would be glad to hear your thoughts on that topic if anyone has experience and is willing to share.  Just leave a comment at the bottom of this post or e-mail me at ntbnotes@gmail.com.

A Letter to My Stomach

Dear Stomach,

I was really upset with you this weekend, as you clearly were with me as well.  I don't know what kind of bug got into you, but it got us both down for a while.  Thanks to you, this is what I looked like in class this morning as we learned about the brain in our neurology lecture.  Thank you for rebounding and allowing me to have half a turkey sandwich for lunch.  If you could just chew on that for a while so I can get some studying done, I would appreciate it.  I promise to feed you yummier things than ginger ale and saltines if you are good.

Love, Me

*Picture retrieved from Google Images

Wishful Thinking

So...remember yesterday when I was all "springy spring spring" but I mad the caveat that I live in Colorado and rarely do we escape April without more spring snow?  Well this is what it looks like at my window today.

First it clouded up and the temperature must have dropped about 20 degrees.  Then the wind came.  Then it rained, and now it is snowing.  And Lena and I are both looking out the window wishing for spring to come back soon so we can go out and play.

Oh well, here is my unwanted excuse to sit down and do some studying.

Speaking of wishing...
It seems like every day, in every job, in every situation, there is always somebody wishing that "this day would just be over already!".  We all do it.  We're always in a hurry to get to the next "important" event.

*BUT*

If you knew it would be the last day you would see your friend, the last day you would talk to your mom or dad on the phone, the time you would kiss your kids on their way to school or the last "good morning" you would say to your sweetheart, would you still wish it away?

With recent tragic events in Japan and worldwide and events that may even hit closer to home, I think it is important to remember how precious life is, so hold your loved ones close.  

Don't wish away your days!  Once that time is gone, you cannot get it back.  Time is for love and for making memories - these things live on forever after.

Feeling Springy

Hello again, friends!

I realize I've been MIA for the last couple of weeks, taking some much needed vacation time to see family, and diving head first into the dynamic world of Adults With Complex Disease Processes (aka Med/Surg II).  I am so excited about this class for a few reasons:

1.  Our instructors are incredibly knowledgeable and helpful

2.  I feel like we are getting beyond the basics to the guts of nursing

and

3.  We get to have some input into the floor on which we will be doing our clinical rotation

(Oncology please with all of my fingers crossed!!)

Also, the weather is actually starting to look like Spring!

(Just a little late for Spring Break...)

I have lived in Colorado long enough to know that there is still a very good chance of having snow again before summer is here, but the trees are starting to bud and the afternoons are warm so I am hopeful.  Even enough so to have painted my toenails in anticipation of wearing flip-flops!

Also, I am "on" again in reference to my on-again/off-again workout program, and that puts a little extra spring in my step.  As an added incentive, my ten year high school reunion is this summer, so I try to keep that in mind as I am burning up the treadmill.

(What would I rather be doing...studying??)

Good music gets me through the workouts with a smile, with Grace Potter and the Nocturnals being my latest iPod addition.

(Grace and the gang also make great study buddies.)

***

What do you like to listen to when you study or work out?  Any suggestions for awesome new tunes?