Week 6 as a level 3 nursing student

"Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress."
- Mahatma Gandhi

Well, this post is clearly many days late. I apologize for my un-timeliness but I've been in a bit of an Olympic/baking frenzy.

Week 6! This week I learned the importance of being assertive and honest in hopes of furthering group process. In NURS 3000, PBL, I've been quite bothered by many issues and as the chairperson for this week, I wanted to bring up my grievances in a very honest and open manner. I mulled over how to do it for hours and did not sleep until 0430 Sunday night with a 0830 class Monday morning. The most important lesson I learned from this experience is that honesty goes miles. That Gandhi knew what he was talking about. I felt as though the class really progressed after that class and I was so pleased with the level of participation.

Let me see, clinical this week was different! It was my first week on the other side but we did not spend much time there. We got to learn about ECT procedure! I gotta say that it's slightly disheartening, the wide-held notion that it is cruel and inhumane. It is not the first line of treatment and it is not done to harm a patient, it is used for treatment resistant patients. So for example, someone who is manic and has not had positive results from oral medications could receive ECT. They are under general anesthesia, given muscle relaxants, and the seizure lasts for max 30 seconds. They awake in 30 min and most patients feel great afterwards. It provides for a better quality of life.

I can't believe that we only have one more week at Riverview! Having said that, however, I am totally anticipating my rotation at Surrey Memorial BABIES, HERE I COME!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Olympic break = money making, baking, and homework

Week 5 as a level 3 nursing student

Cheerie-o, everyone!

Let's see - this week was slightly hectic. I had my presentation on Monday, handed in my PBL proposal on Monday, and took my mental health midterm as well! Tuesday was a bit more relaxed - I just had to meet with my partner and immunology instructor to go over our presentation. I say more relaxed, but I left that meeting feeling seriously anxious. We're supposed to teach our class about the immunological aspects of breastfeeding and I just don't really feel prepared. We aren't teaching it until Mar 2nd, but the deadline for our presentation is Feb. 16th. I always feel so much more pressure when it's a group assignment because both of our marks are on the line.

In clinical this week, we actually got to stay on the same unit for one more week, which was exciting for me because I wanted to interview one of the patients for my PBL paper. It was disappointing, though, because I didn't get a chance to talk to him about it - I really wanted to interview him. It's the same patient who motivated me and inspired me a few weeks back...I've been reflecting lots lately and have realized that he is the first patient who has enabled me to truly empathize with someone.

Sympathy vs. empathy - you don't sympathize, that's feeling sorry for someone, empathize is when you put yourself in their shoes and truly attempt to feel what they're feeling. I was reading his chart and just saw what a hard time he had been going through. When I was talking to my colleagues, one expressed how she wished she didn't know the story behind each person because it was so sad and that it made her depressed. I had to speak up about this because I think nursing is such a collaborative profession and because I was there. I went home on Thursday and sulked for a while before realizing, "hey, despite all these events, he still wants to get better, to improve, to have his own life." It was a huge moment for me, that Thursday evening - I cried, and I'm not too proud to admit it...like I said, it's empowering, for me, to be able to see stories like these. When we talked about this, my classmate seemed really receptive to it and I learned in level 1 the importance of using your colleagues as your resources because if you find the right ones, they can help you through some pretty tough times. When I was in level 1, I grew really attached to a patient and cried pretty hard when I had to leave. That was the first time I truly questioned whether or not I could be a nurse - I felt that putting so much care into a person and having to leave was going to be chronic loss and grief for me. I'm obviously a sensitive person, but I'm finding it easier to detach enough to not cry (I'm not saying it's never going to happen again, believe-you-me) but the whole 'therapeutic relationship' concept is starting to make more sense to me.

My dad always said that you don't have to make your own mistakes in order to learn, and while there has been no specific mistake mentioned in this post, the basis of my dad's statement stands strong. Learning through others is so valuable. Sure, sometimes making your own mistakes allows you to really struggle and grow, but you don't always have to learn the hard way. Drawing on the experiences of others is one of the pillars of life, I think and this week, it really showed to me. I'm not saying that I'm oozing with experience, knowledge, expertise, or whatever, but I'm saying that I knew what my colleague was going through because I'd been there. It made me feel really bad for a while, but sometimes, taking a step back and looking on the other side can be huge. It's always easier to solve someone else's problems, right? ;)

Week 4 as a level 3 nursing student

Late entry (in red) This week has been pretty tough, in terms of assignments. I had readings to do the entire week last week but also had one presentation on Monday (today), a paper on Monday, a presentation to submit for Tuesday (tmr), and a midterm tonight. This semester has definitely been the most difficult for me, hw wise, but clinical hasn't been too bad.

You can always tell how busy/stressed out I am by:
a) the amount of text msgs I send out
b) how quickly I update this blog (sometimes I'll update even if I'm busy but have had an amazing week)
c) the amount of frustration I have
d) the amount of cookies I eat (haha!)

Let's see. Last week was very neat - I had my alternative experience for my mental health rotation and it was pretty neat. I was at a group home and most of the residents were very high-functioning. It kind of brought hope for me when I thought back about the patient who is around my age - to know that it is possible. :)