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This week was awesome but I'm so sad the semester's over. This was our last week of classes and we had a final exam on Tue for PBL. Then we had two guest speakers come in for clinical skills and I gotta say, I really admire ppl who are able to stand up in front of a crowd and talk about their experiences. To be able to tell a group of 70 about your health history, how you felt after a surgical procedure, and how it's affected your life takes an incredible amount of courage and I really respect that.
We had our last class of patho with David on Wed and it was kind of sad but also exciting at the same time. I'm sad we don't have it over 3 semesters because it's such an important course but the materials are crammed in. I'm going to be a keener and study patho over the winter holiday. Go ahead and laugh at me, but who wants a nurse that can't think and make sense of a diagnosis? I would never wish that upon anybody.
This week clinical was great for me. I had one patient who was very independent and the second patient was total care. I am feeling very good about IV meds, infusions, and injections now. The patient who was total care also had dementia - something I haven't dealt with since level 1, last semester! So it had been about 6 months since I had practiced those communication skills and I was reminded of how patient I had to be. It was pretty hard getting back up to speed, but it was so nice to see at the end of the shift how he had warmed up to me! I walked in and asked if he recognized me and said, "well, I don't know, but I remember the smile!" That is one of my warm fuzzy nursing moments for this week. 
Today was my very last day at MSJ and with my clinical group! I am so sad! I'm glad to be done this semester because I'm excited for the holidays, but I'm going to miss my group, instructor, and it's been such a great semester - all the experiences I've had!!! I had the opportunity to nurse with my friend from high school today and it was SO exciting! I had been looking forward to it for such a long time - when I found out that I was at this hospital, I had to contact him right away and say "I hope I'll have a shift with you!!!" and then I saw that he had signed some charting for one of my patients the week before and texted him excitedly saying that I saw his name (not the patient's name) on charting, so there was a sign of him on the unit! So I finally got to work with him and it was so exciting and I have so much respect for him.
I had my final evaluation today with my instructor and he was so encouraging. I was so sad that this semester is over that I couldn't give him any feedback about his teaching (which is great). We made a really awesome gift basket for him and he seemed so surprised! Even though he saw it in the morning...haha! We also made a bunch of things for the ward for them to eat. Unfortunately, we weren't able to have a lot of the nurses we worked with throughout the semester there today! So we never really got to say goodbye! 
4 exams to go!!! Wednesday, here I come!!!! 
LEVEL 3, HERE I COME!!!!
One more week of classes - two more weeks including exams until the semester's over! I can't believe it's breezed by so! We practiced removing sutures this week and shortening penrose drains. I haven't seen any penrose drains in the clinical setting and a lot of instructors say that they are not very common anymore, but I think it's still good to learn. You never know if you'll be practicing in a place where they're still being used, right?
Patho's been pretty fast-paced for the past few weeks. We're definitely trying to get through as much material as possible. I really wished that I had taken some background courses before coming into the program, but I'm coping. The keener in me will be reviewing patho this winter holiday.
Clinical this week was good - I'm becoming increasingly comfortable with IVs and have been able to work together with my classmates, going to the bedside with them and watching them set up an infusion. It's really nice to have someone there going through the steps with you and telling you what you're missing, or if you've forgotten to put on the roller clamp. Haha. Two brains are always better than one!
One thing I love about nursing is that I get to keep learning (I realize I'm a student and there are more things TO learn than to NOT learn.) - just when we thought that we'd seen all the surgeries and conditions on this unit, I learn about lupus and Raynaud's disease. It's pretty interesting, learning about these diseases and tying them to which medications the patients are on.
Holidays are a comin!
I ALMOST FORGOT TO ADD MY WARM FUZZY NURSING MOMENT FOR THIS WEEK!!!!!!
So remember how a few weeks ago, I talked about removing the snyder drain and not realizing that my patient was wincing in pain because I was so focused on getting the task done? Then remember what my instructor said about becoming more observant after more practice? Well my patient wasn't in pain when I removed her IV, but she was very very scared. I asked if she wanted me to explain what I was doing as I was doing it (it usually helps with casualty care in first aid) but she was very quick to veto that. So instead I created distractions for her and basically started chatting her up as I removed it. Right after I removed it, I said, "all done!" and she was so surprised she looked at her arm, then up at me, and smiled because she couldn't believe it! So it was exciting for me to be able to do a task (granted it wasn't a HUGE one) and help ease the patient's anxiety related to the task while I did it. My instructor was right and my patient appreciated it!
Ok, that's it. Time to study!
We had our second 12 hour shift this week on Fri so we had Thursday off which was a nice break! We had our last PBL class of the semester and we practiced irrigating bladders this week in lab.
This week in clinical, I had such a good shift! It was really busy for me and I felt kind of crazy, but I really enjoyed it. I got to do a lot of practicing on IVs both on a pump and by gravity!! My morning started off really disjointed and I felt really behind and I was so thrown off by drawing up two different types of insulin into one syringe - I had to do it three times and I was so frustrated!!!! I can verbalize what I need to do, but one time I pulled the safety sheath over the needle and had to restart, the second time I was 1 unit short so I pulled up a bit and ended up getting 5 units and had to restart yet again. But I got it the third time, thank god! I was so mad at myself for taking so long! Then I found out that one of my patients had been discharged already and I didn't even know! That made me even MORE mad at myself!! Hello! What was going on with myself! I was so frazzled. Then I went to do my patient's head to toe assessment and they started crying!!! I was surprised but also not really surprised because their affect while I was in their room was quite sad the entire time. So I guess crying was a natural progression. It was kind of sad because I asked if they wanted to talk about anything and if they could tell us about what was bothering them and they said declined. When I talked to my instructor, he asked how that made me feel, but I knew that it wasn't personal - it's not like she hates me and doesn't want to talk to me, it's just the situational thing, really.
But it was so exciting for me because at the end of the shift when I was saying goodbye, they asked if I was going to be there the day after and I said no and she seemed kind of disappointed and then they smiled at me!! MY PATIENT WHO DIDN'T WANT TO SPEAK TO ME AT ALL DURING THE FIRST PART OF MY SHIFT SMILED AT ME!!!! Celebrate your victories, right? Yay!
My second patient was really tired because they had just come up from surgery and I got to do a lot of work with gravity IV stuff and it was just really exciting to be able to practice. The patient and her husband were really nice, too. There was a lot of family support and she was super sweet.
Almost done level 2!!! Woohoo! I'm going to miss my clinical group and my instructor so much!!!
Week 12 totally trumped week 11!!! Not that week 11 was so fantastic that week 12 had lots to live up to, though. At any rate! Monday was a bit stressful because I was studying for patho after class before work at the gym. But I think it was a nice break to go to work because I had been studying all of Saturday, Sunday, and Monday afternoon/early evening. It's a nice bit of time for me to relax and not think about patho. So on Tuesday I went and worked out after my shift at the gym and let me tell you, it felt SO good. I think it helped me release all my pent up stress from patho and everything else. I felt so good that I went again on Wed between my two exams.
So, word to the wise, while it's important to be on top of your game and study hard and work hard, you can't put aside things that can help your mental health (like physical fitness). For me, last semester and this semester, I have been walking to and from school, but I don't know what it is about this semester, but it's been more difficult for me. I'm still loving the program and nursing, but I just haven't been taking care of myself very well. So I'm going to be going to the gym on Mon and Tue of every week to destress.
Clinical this week was great! I love it when family members are involved because they always ask questions and I get to practice my patient teaching. I don't necessarily always know the answer, but it becomes another learning opportunity for me. So this week I got to discharge a patient and we talked about diet, exercise, home care, and I got to teach her and her daughter how to empty a drain she had. That was a really neat experience for me because it was like I got to teach a skill that I learned this semester to a student. These weeks are really busy because we're able to do a lot more skills now but I love being busy because that means I get to practice some more! In total, I've done 6/7 dressing changes and this week, I got to do my first dressing change independently because my clinical instructor says he's seen me do them enough times! And as my instructor predicted, I'm becoming more organized after doing the tasks more times.
So those who know me well know that I've been talking about wanting to volunteer at a nursing school in Bangladesh next summer (2010). I emailed one of the contact people a few months ago and he responded saying that it was still too early on in my nursing education for me to go. Naturally I was pretty disappointed because I was so eager to learn about the initiative and even began to research some information on Bangladesh. It was really nice of him to offer to meet me when he came into town, though. So we had set up a meeting for this past Thursday to have coffee and just chat. Long story short, I think I'm going to Bangladesh in June of 2010!!!!!!!! I was so happy/thrilled/excited/surprised/shocked I almost started crying tears of joy after him and his wife left. I had to go to the bathroom to jump for joy. I was so excited and still am incredibly excited, for lack of another word. Time to start saving and reading up on Bangladesh and figuring things out!!!!! I've started looking up flights and looking at dates already, I'm so excited!!!!!! 
It's been a great week!
This week I missed clinical because I was sick. It was pretty crazy, we were down to 50% manpower at clinical......half of us were sick!! HOW RIDICULOUS IS THAT, I MEAN REALLY NOW!!!! So yea, I was really sad that I missed two days but spent all of Thur, Fri, and most of Sat in bed which does not bode well for my microbiology and pathophysiology exams on Wed. Oh well, one day at a time, Cassandra.
PBL this week was uneventful, we had presentations and went over the actual problems for the Frank scenario but this semester, we seem to be doing things in a disjointed way. We'll see how we can improve for the next careplan.
5 weeks to go, baby!!!! After Wednesday, it's smooth sailing!!!
Nothing deep and profound to report this week because I was asleep for most of it. 
othing supremely eventful really happens at school anymore, I pretty much go to classes only to pass the time until clinical happens at the end of the week!!
Ok, that's not true, I suppose. This week in PBL, I was given constructive feedback! So this week was tough because one of the presentations was on palliative care and that's always a difficult subject for me just because of family history. So during the presentation, a lot of tears ensued for a lot of us (in a class of 12 girls, does it surprise you if they are even mildly similar to me?) and a lot of us have had ppl close to us die and just sharing that information (though not the first time) is tough. So I wasn't as active as I normally am and I was told to be more consistent. The thing that I found hard was that I was still asking questions during presentations and participating in them, but I was told that "I didn't ask any questions that made everyone think." I was really shocked by that because I'm still trying to find a balance between talking too much and apparently now, talking too little. It just made me feel like, "uh, ok, so I'm not allowed to have an off day? Like...everyone can take a sick day but I can make it to class, ask regular questions, and not be allowed to not ask deep and profound questions?" So I felt kind of upset about that. But I took it, said thank you, and really thought about it when I got home.
I have concluded that my classmate was right. I need to learn to dissociate personal from professional. I'm going to have patients who die and I can't allow that to affect how I treat the rest of my patients. I'm allowed to have a bad day, but I still need to move on and work through it. The thing with good constructive feedback is that it's supposed to make you feel uncomfortable, and I give major props to my classmate for being so honest and bold - because all too often we tip-toe around what we want to actually say so as to not offend the person. Tough experience to take in at first, but I worked through it and I have a lot of respect for that classmate!
Clinical this week was awesome - I really look forward to the car ride home because our carpool group is a great way to debrief the day. This week I was crazy busy on Thurs but I didn't mind because I was able to do a dressing change and remove a foley catheter. Oh! I gave my first enema on Thur, too!! So even though I learned it in level 1, I'd never done it before! On Fri, I did another dressing change, took out a saline lock, and removed a snyder drain (which is used to drain the fluids after a surgery)!
One thing I've discovered this week is that I was so task oriented with the new skills I was doing that I compromised my people skills - at least that's how I felt. My awesome instructor says that it's kind of normal to do that and I will only get better and learn to multi-task as I do them more often. I felt bad because when I was removing the snyder drain, I was pulling and pulling and I didn't even look at the facial expression of my patient because I was so nervous about the first time removing one!! Later when I debriefed with my instructor, he was saying "normally it's a bit painful when you remove a snyder and ........" and I responded with..."yeaaaaa.....I'm having a hard time balancing the human approach with these tasks....when you said that it causes pain, I didn't even NOTICE that...." but my instructor was really supportive (one of his strong suits!)
So here's a warm and fuzzy nursing moment for you faithful readers:
One of my patients was getting discharged and I was doing my discharge teaching and whatnot and he was this super cute old man! On Thur, after I removed his catheter, I told him to show me his first void so that I could assess it and he came tottering out with his IV pole and tugged at the arm of my scrub top and said, "I go peepee." Now while you may not think that's very cute, I loved it and it made me smile from the inside out. The second story that tugged at my heartstrings was when he was getting discharged, he offered me flowers!!! I thought it was the sweetest thing ever.
Here's to another 7 weeks!
Sorry for not updating last weekend, I was feeling under the weather and missed a day of clinical!! Gasp, I know! In week 8, I was reminded of the assumptions assignment we did in level 1. I can't even begin to stress the importance of not making assumptions about patients. I know it and can say it, but I don't know why it still happened. I still take the time to get to know the patient and their life and it doesn't affect my care, but the outcome is that you (I) end up feeling like a big fat jerk. So all you reading this right now are going to help hold me accountable, ok? Nothing really outstanding happened in week 8, but we got to learn about IVs in lab.
Week 9, on the other hand!!!!! I gave my first injections in the hospital this week and boy oh boy was I ever nervous!!! My instructor said I was fine, but I was nervous, and I think he was just being nice. Haha! We had our 12 hour shift this week and boy was I ever beat and I only had one patient! Granted, he was total care, but still, it was like level 1! I got to do a dressing change, as well! I was feeling very nervous about not having done many new skills this semester, but in that one day, I got to give two injections AND change a dressing! Woohoo! Definitely room for improvement, but that only comes with practice!
This week I learned the importance of body language and actions. My patient and his wife didn't speak a word of English and I don't speak a word of Punjabi! It was an interesting experience and I still need to reflect and think about what I can do differently for next time. But I gotta say, despite the language barrier, a smile is universal. My patient was in and out of consciousness, and when he came to a few times, I smiled at him and said "Hello Mr X" with a subtle smile and I'm just always going to remember that. No matter how unwell he felt, he was still able to respond to my smile. Sigh. I love nursing!
This week I learned the importance of patient advocacy. That is, speaking out for what your patient needs and wants. I had a patient who was in pain and the nurse advised that we did not give them their prescribed narcotics because it would make their constipation worse. The patient had two bowel movements that afternoon so I was wondering why we couldn't administer them. There was a very intense conversation between myself and my buddy nurse that ensued. My nurse said to administer acetaminophen (Tylenol) but my patient claimed that it would upset their stomach and declined my multiple offers. I had another conversation with my nurse and she said that a lot of the time, pain was psychological, but I knew that it was the biggest concern for my patient because I spoke to them about it quite extensively. A few hours later, I spoke to my instructor about this concern of mine and explained my rationale behind my way of thinking and he was incredibly supportive, went to ask the RN for the keys to the narcotic cupboard, and we gave my patient their narcotic.
This week was my first time having such a tough nurse since I started school. Assertiveness has always been something that I've struggled with, because I feel as though if not done appropriately, it's just being plain rude. We're always taught to 'play the student card' if we're questioning the rationale behind our buddy nurse's decisions, but this week, it just didn't work and I was having a really hard time communicating. I'm still thinking about how I can improve this weakness in myself, but I'm also really glad how far I've come in the clinical setting in terms of assertiveness. There's still a HUGE way to go, but this is the most improvement I've seen since starting in January.
The second invaluable lesson I learned this week was on patient education. I had the honour of helping my patient learn about an abundance of things related to their condition. I was able to teach them about lab values, community resources like peer support groups, the blood transfusion they were about to undergo, etc. I have been trying to work on my patient teaching and this week I just really felt like I was able to do it. Another thing I noticed is that I really connected with this patient this week and leaving wasn't hard for me. The last time I really connected with a patient, I had a really hard time leaving and even cried (I know, emotional!), but this time wasn't bad...I must be understanding this whole 'therapeutic relationship' thing.
I didn't have an exceptional week, or even a good week for that matter, but I really learned alot; and that's what's important, learning.
This week was packed! I had my first shift on Monday night until 2315 at the school gym and then had an early morning class on Tuesday at 0830. Luckily, I was able to do a tonne of studying for patho between my patho lecture and work on Monday. You sure can accomplish alot in a 6.5 hour break!
Lab was great this week! We got to practice landmarking for injections! Woohoo! Note to any potential nursing students, for this lab, wear pants and if possible, tights! They're great for feeling the muscles you need to landmark.
Wednesday was the dreaded patho/microbi midterm day! I joked with David (our instructor) saying that they purposely schedule two midterms on one day just to see if student nurses could handle stress. Haha, if you can't handle two midterms on the same day, get out of the program. Haha! It's like their screening or filtering process or something. 
I was fortunate enough to go to the OR again on Thursday, so I didn't have any patient research to do on Wednesday night, woohoo!! It was such a nice break, I went home, napped, and pretty much did nothing except for my pharmacology posting. And of course, the much anticipated CRIMINAL MINDS season premiere was on Wednesday, so I obviously watched that. You have to find time for yourself. Mental health = often overlooked but very important.
The OR experience was neat, don't get me wrong, I was able to watch a bilateral ureteroscopy with lithotripsy. In short, it was a kidney stone removal from both sides using a scope. Haha! Medicine and its fancy terminology. I really got to know my patient this week, but I pretty much just observed the entire time, so I would have preferred doing something hands on, myself. I'm sure I could've asked to do more, but I wasn't sure if I should or not? So I was in pre-op with the patient, went to the OR and observed the procedure, then went to the post-anesthetic recovery unit with them as well and back to surgical daycare before the patient was discharged. I actually had a better time in the eye surgery clinic because I was able to do more and see more operations and admitting/discharge procedures. Anyway, it's exciting because we're starting to do injections in the hospital on real patients now, so it feels more nurse-y. Oh! And we missed clinical on Friday, so I haven't had two patients yet, but everyone else started with 2 patients this week! Yay!!!
This week is pretty relaxed, I think. No assignments due other than the regular lab readings and questions. I do have to do some assignments for PBL, though, but that shouldn't take too long and I can do that on my 6.5 hour break tomorrow. Woohoo!!!
This week we had a quiz for patho which went quite well, in my opinion! I really like that we're getting quizzes periodically - it keeps me on the ball. I'm trying a lot harder this semester in patho and things are making a lot more sense, so I'm happy.
In PBL, we had presentations but I've done 2, so I pretty much sat back and absorbed information this week, which is always nice. In lab, we got to practice drawing up injections and fake insulin. I'm so grateful for my time at the clinic (where I used to work) because it's given me so many opportunities to learn things like drawing up vaccinations!
Clinical this week was exciting, as usual. I was able to use my Cantonese to help my patient! It was so exciting, I'm always looking for those opportunities. It's amazing to see first hand how quickly ppl are put to ease when they're able to build a connection like that. Building rapport with a patient is so much easier, in a sense. On Thur, we got an in-service with the OR educator, and turns out I get to another alternate experience in the OR! A different one from the eye surgery clinic! How exciting! I'll get to go to watch a different surgery, so possibly a TRAM flap surgery (for ppl diagnosed with breast cancer, their breast is removed and in this particular surgery, there is also an implant from their abdominal tissues or other forms) or a TUPR (for men with enlarged prostates).
In this upcoming week, things worth noting include:
2 midterms on Wed
OR experience on Thur
On a semi-related note, from www.givesmehope.com (a site I strongly encourage you to read!) I found this experience which is fitting for me, as I will be learning injections this week in lab and exercising that skill in clinical on Friday!
A bit of history on this site, it's for ppl who are optimistic and post up their positive experiences which give them hope. It's just an information freeway for everyone to enjoy and believe, I guess? I don't know - I'm kind of a sap like that, so needless to say, I read this on a regular basis. Haha! Enjoy!
"In my first year of my nursing degree, I was so nervous about giving my first ever injection to a patient. The patient told me to relax, take a breathe, and that the faster you inject it the sooner it would be over. My patient was 8 years old, and I still pray that she survived. Princess, you GMH."
This week flew by because of the long weekend, so essentially, I was at school for 2 days and then in the hospital for 2 days. Sweet! On Tue, we learned how to do blood glucometers, 4.9! Normal range 4 -7, no diabetes! Knock on wood...that was new and exciting. Something I learned from that is to stick the strip on the drop of blood straight on and not on an angle, otherwise you'll just get a smear. I hope none of you will ever have to practice on yourselves or loved ones. If you're coming into nursing, then this'll help A trick passed on to me by my colleague who is a paramedic!
In PBL this week, I had a presentation on labs which didn't go as well as I'd hoped. My instructor wanted me to be the first person to try and walk around while speaking, which I hadn't intended on doing at all. So there were some difficulties there, especially with a smaller room setting. I definitely laugh when I'm uncomfortable, something I'll need to work on. Actually, it's something I've been working on for a while, but a smile just so easy to hide behind sometimes. I was also not fully prepared for this one (completely my fault) so I didn't do as well. But it's ok, because it's a learning process.
Thurs was a very low-key day because my pt was discharged very early on in the day. I did, however, get to remove his saline lock! A new procedure for me! I felt pretty disorganized and worried, though, so definitely room for improvement. I got to follow through discharge procedures with my pt, so that was neat! I got to talk to him about his diet plan, home situation, etc, etc and taught him about his new prescriptions! Ah! Me! Imparting knowledge, who'dathought?! Granted, some of those drugs I had just looked up myself, but still!
So because my pt had been discharged and there weren't many new admissions, my classmate and I were able to go down to the eye surgery clinic!!! It was AMAZING! I never thought I'd be so excited to do OR nursing, but I'm thinking it's pretty cool. I got to watch 3 eye surgeries! I got to see a trabulectomy (for glaucoma, increased pressure within the eyeball caused by hypertension, diabetes, heart disease) and a phacoemulsification (for cataracts, which is when part of the eye becomes opaque, distorting vision). I am amazed by the precision of surgery, the flow of an OR, and the teamwork that goes into it. I was also lucky enough to shadow a number of very knowledgeable nurses who were willing to explain the procedure and what their jobs were.
This week will be less busy, but it's the calm before the storm. Two midterms on the same day next week! Woohoo for pathophysiology and microbiology! Yayyyy I'll make it through. With a smile, too!
One word to sum this week up is 'awesome'! The weeks just seem to be flying by with clinical at the end of the week!
Lab was exciting because we to practiced removing catheters on Terry, the lab doll. Then I had PBL. Something that I'm continuing to work on is being assertive.
PBL is so great because it allows me to practice this in a 'safe environment'. Ideally, though not always, everyone understands that we are all there to help each other improve and hone our own skills. As the chairperson, we get to work on time management, practicing our assertiveness by 'reigning everyone in to focus on the task at hand', organization, and smooth transitions. This week, it was a bit difficult for me because the presentations are all quite well done yet we still need to maintain timeliness for our agenda in order to get everything done. I had to ask ppl to be quiet many times, once or twice to the instructor, even, which is something that is SO uncomfortable to do! It's something I'm working on, definitely, but I honestly love PBL! Personally, I really see the value in it, as cheesey as that sounds. I think it's helped me with my teaching significantly and I really enjoy presentations, so it's great! But this week I was definitely feeling "the physiological signs of stress" after that class. Haha.
I had a meeting with my instructor on campus this week which was great because we didn't have many of those last semester and I felt like it was really helpful because there are fewer distractions. It's more efficient and the time is more devoted to the student and where our strengths and weaknesses lie. I went over my journal with my instructor and then we discussed my learning plan. I also got some good feedback, which was exciting, but it's still very early on in the semester.
Clinical this week was so good! We were on mornings with our own assigned patients. This semester, the patients are so much more independent, so for the most part, only set-up is required for tasks like morning care and washes. I felt really nervous because it was 0900 and I still hadn't done my head to toe assessment yet because my patient had gone to the bathroom and was on the phone after I gave him his 0800 meds. But as soon as I got the head to toe done, it was pretty smooth. I am struggling to find things to do during the down time, so I've been doing things like emptying linen bags and asking the nurses if they need any help with anything. I also made friends with one of the nurses on the unit and he showed me how to do an admission for a pt and explained continuous bladder irrigation to me! Some of my classmates got to do catheter removals and remove saline locks! It was really exciting to hear that they were starting to do those already and I can't wait to do those, too!
This long weekend will be dedicated to working on my PBL presentation, the PBL paper, lab homework, and brushing up on my patho/microbi!! Woohoo, long weekend, here I come!!!
This week was busy as anticipated with meetings, a nursing clothing sale, presentations, clinical!!!!, and doing my homework ahead of time in anticipation for our leadership retreat with St. John. However, I pulled through like a champ!
So Monday was long because I had a 3.5 hour break between my 1 hour patho seminar and the CRNBC SR meeting, but it was spent selling clothing to the other levels.
On Tuesday I had my presentation for PBL and it was good but draining, too, because I shared some really personal experiences on loss and grief. Skills and techniques class was good this week, it really gave us a good idea of some potential problems we could see in our patients post-op. I think that was the best sim lab class I've had so far in my time at BCIT!
Wednesday was the science-y day filled with Patho and Microbi. I'm still trying to get used to the varying teaching styles between the two instructors and I'm not sure what to expect for microbi, but I'm kind of worried because sciences have never really been my strong suit. Haha.
Clinical this week was awesome! I'm still trying to figure out what my role is in this new semester. There will be a lot more skills learned, but we can't do them yet because we haven't learnt them in class. So we were all kind of floundering around, trying to figure out what to do, kind of twiddling our thumbs, trying to look busy. I did all this research for my patient only to find that he'd been discharged that morning!!!! So it was a bit disappointing, especially because he seemed really funny and nice when I met him the day before.
This week is going to be dedicated to reviewing microbi and patho! Oh, and my first PBL paper is due next week, so that will also be done!
