This past week was eventful! On Tuesday, we had our very first day doing maternal assessments. We were paired up, though, so I didn't get to do one. I still felt like I learned a lot, though. On Wednesday, I was supposed to watch a live birth!!! But before you get too excited, I spent the whole day with her and her sister in law only to move into post-conference and come back out to her being 6cm dilated.
As 'boring' a day as you might think it was, I thought it was so neat. Let me explain. In our family theory class, we learn about different family dynamics and we always are taught to be open minded, that every family is different, cultures are different, etc. The neatest thing this week was for my concepts of family theory to really solidify. I can be considered a 'strong character', so it's been difficult for me to really realize that my way isn't necessarily always the right way. It's not that I haven't known it, but it's being able to accept it and work with different ways. I guess in a nutshell, flexibility is something I'm continually working on, is how I could put it. What I see as a 'family' isn't what someone else sees in a family. Just because a family is different from mine does not mean that it's dysfunctional and vice versa. I really saw that this week. Not that I went into the room thinking, "oh this family is going to be dysfunctional" but I mean that it's so interesting to see that their way of living is so different from mine yet works so well. I think I say that because I admire their family for doing things their way because I would struggle in their situations. I admire them and think it's remarkable.
I really valued this week because I was really able to connect with the family. They were so lovely and even invited me to come back after my post-conference to have cake with them! I went back, not just for the cake, but because I wanted to say goodbye and to see if she had delivered yet (she hadn't). I didn't have cake either, FYI. :)
I spent all of this weekend on my PBL paper but I don't regret it at all because it's over and done with now. I'm also done my assignments for family theory! SMOOTH SAILING THIS WEEK, FOLKS!
Also, not that there are any die-hard fans out there, but I'm going to change my update schedule to do it on Wed instead of the weekend because I find the span difficult. I don't have as clear a flow as I would if I had clinical on Thur/Fri.
Oh! Another highlight of my week was being able to prime an IV bag successfully without any glitches because I went to open lab last week! I was very proud because that was time I took out of my day and took ownership for my own learning. This past Friday, I practiced my sterile dressing changes! I was so rusty. I'm going to do it again this weekend. :)
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Friday, March 12, 2010
Week 9 as a level 3 nursing student
This week has been incredibly...over whelming, to say the least. Self-induced stress, though, I suppose. We had an immunology midterm on Mon, and a pharm midterm and mental health final exam on Thur. I also decided on a whim on Monday to throw myself a bake sale on Thurs. In retrospect, what was I thinking. Haha.
Oh well, I made it through, smiling and alive - well, breathing at least! :) I kid.
Lessons this week:
Orientation day was Tuesday and reading lists were released on Monday morning. There wasn't much time and the amount of information presented was pretty hefty. I feel as though I put a lot of pressure on myself to know everything - but I just didn't have my A game on Wed at clinical. On Tuesday, I made cue cards on some things, but per Murphy's law, I didn't have one made for the questions she was asking. That's ok, it only serves as motivation for me - just have to keep pushing myself. I won't always have the answers, but for me, the key is to keep on trying and just look up what I don't know. That's the answer for me because I hate feeling confused, and I guess with factual, concrete information, it's easier for me to grasp and make cue cards on than for something like reading the dynamics of a family.
Family theory is actually very thought stimulating, for me. The themes of dignity, feeling helpful/appreciated, connecting with ppl, and phenomenology were emphasized yet again. I feel as though the activity we did was pretty well executed - we all shared a memorable nursing memory to a partner who in turn, shared it with the class. Our partner was to extract one memorable quote to put up on the board. It seems as though this class pushes us to be highly self-aware. We shall see how everything unravels :)
Something I put on my learning plan was to be more self-aware and to understand where my triggers lie. When my clinical instructor was telling us about some stories of abuse, I found it very difficult to sit there and even listen to without having a look of horror on my face. The truth is, though, I'm going to have to be unbiased in my care when the time comes for me to deal with a situation such as that. Tying in from the family theory course, what my ideals for a family are not the be-all-end-all of family dynamics. Just because I think that a family should be loving, unconditionally, that isn't the case, this is just how I interpret it.
A pretty big group of us went into open lab today to practice IV therapy, injection landmarking, and other level 2 skills. I found it both daunting and helpful. Daunting at first, because I was super rusty, helpful because I got to practice the skills hands on! It's going to be a weekly ritual, so it'll be great, especially for Bangla!
Weekend plans: finish PBL paper, make PBL handouts, DO MY OB READINGS, maybe go for a run again!
Oh well, I made it through, smiling and alive - well, breathing at least! :) I kid.
Lessons this week:
Orientation day was Tuesday and reading lists were released on Monday morning. There wasn't much time and the amount of information presented was pretty hefty. I feel as though I put a lot of pressure on myself to know everything - but I just didn't have my A game on Wed at clinical. On Tuesday, I made cue cards on some things, but per Murphy's law, I didn't have one made for the questions she was asking. That's ok, it only serves as motivation for me - just have to keep pushing myself. I won't always have the answers, but for me, the key is to keep on trying and just look up what I don't know. That's the answer for me because I hate feeling confused, and I guess with factual, concrete information, it's easier for me to grasp and make cue cards on than for something like reading the dynamics of a family.
Family theory is actually very thought stimulating, for me. The themes of dignity, feeling helpful/appreciated, connecting with ppl, and phenomenology were emphasized yet again. I feel as though the activity we did was pretty well executed - we all shared a memorable nursing memory to a partner who in turn, shared it with the class. Our partner was to extract one memorable quote to put up on the board. It seems as though this class pushes us to be highly self-aware. We shall see how everything unravels :)
Something I put on my learning plan was to be more self-aware and to understand where my triggers lie. When my clinical instructor was telling us about some stories of abuse, I found it very difficult to sit there and even listen to without having a look of horror on my face. The truth is, though, I'm going to have to be unbiased in my care when the time comes for me to deal with a situation such as that. Tying in from the family theory course, what my ideals for a family are not the be-all-end-all of family dynamics. Just because I think that a family should be loving, unconditionally, that isn't the case, this is just how I interpret it.
A pretty big group of us went into open lab today to practice IV therapy, injection landmarking, and other level 2 skills. I found it both daunting and helpful. Daunting at first, because I was super rusty, helpful because I got to practice the skills hands on! It's going to be a weekly ritual, so it'll be great, especially for Bangla!
Weekend plans: finish PBL paper, make PBL handouts, DO MY OB READINGS, maybe go for a run again!
Friday, March 5, 2010
Week 8 as a level 3 nursing student
"I try to enjoy the little things in life..."
Goodbye, Riverview! I say that with a fair amount of sadness. These past 8 weeks have been both enlightening and trying, surprisingly. In talking with students from other levels, the majority of them have said that their mental health rotation experiences were super easy, etc. etc. I think it depends on what you mean by 'easy'. Task-wise it was definitely a remarkable change of pace from my surgical rotation's task-oriented ways, but in terms of communication, it was definitely a challenge. If you know me, you know I am fairly talkative, connect well with ppl (generally), and try to be friendly. However, no matter how friendly I aim to be, I still faced some apprehension when asking about certain things like delusions, hallucinations, suicidal thoughts, and topics I have not had much exposure to in my life. But that's what it ultimately is, I feel - inexperience!
The highlight of my week in clinical this week was being able to talk to one of my patients. While this may sound ridiculous and miniscule to some, it was a huge accomplishment for me because this patient is known to be reserved and reclusive. To be able to sit there with them and have them ask me back some of the questions I posed was so incredibly exciting for me. I relish in the fact that they took a genuine interest in me and even asked what kind of nursing I wanted to do after I complete school.
Ironically, the title of this blog is fitting. Because today was our last day of Mental Health Clinical, our instructor generously took us out for pizza and it was so much fun. I was in the middle of digging into a slice of pizza when someone made some comment to me and I responded with, "I TRY TO ENJOY THE LITTLE THINGS IN LIFE" and Amrit (my newly faithful reader) responded with, "THAT SHOULD BE THE TITLE OF YOUR NEXT BLOG". Haha. So while the comment I made was offhanded, it is fitting. Even though having someone ask me about my interests might seem minute to another, it spoke volumes to me and I've learned that I need to celebrate my successes, no matter how trivial they may seem. And I don't find this one trivial by any means.
Maternity, here I come! Look out, world!!
Goodbye, Riverview! I say that with a fair amount of sadness. These past 8 weeks have been both enlightening and trying, surprisingly. In talking with students from other levels, the majority of them have said that their mental health rotation experiences were super easy, etc. etc. I think it depends on what you mean by 'easy'. Task-wise it was definitely a remarkable change of pace from my surgical rotation's task-oriented ways, but in terms of communication, it was definitely a challenge. If you know me, you know I am fairly talkative, connect well with ppl (generally), and try to be friendly. However, no matter how friendly I aim to be, I still faced some apprehension when asking about certain things like delusions, hallucinations, suicidal thoughts, and topics I have not had much exposure to in my life. But that's what it ultimately is, I feel - inexperience!
The highlight of my week in clinical this week was being able to talk to one of my patients. While this may sound ridiculous and miniscule to some, it was a huge accomplishment for me because this patient is known to be reserved and reclusive. To be able to sit there with them and have them ask me back some of the questions I posed was so incredibly exciting for me. I relish in the fact that they took a genuine interest in me and even asked what kind of nursing I wanted to do after I complete school.
Ironically, the title of this blog is fitting. Because today was our last day of Mental Health Clinical, our instructor generously took us out for pizza and it was so much fun. I was in the middle of digging into a slice of pizza when someone made some comment to me and I responded with, "I TRY TO ENJOY THE LITTLE THINGS IN LIFE" and Amrit (my newly faithful reader) responded with, "THAT SHOULD BE THE TITLE OF YOUR NEXT BLOG". Haha. So while the comment I made was offhanded, it is fitting. Even though having someone ask me about my interests might seem minute to another, it spoke volumes to me and I've learned that I need to celebrate my successes, no matter how trivial they may seem. And I don't find this one trivial by any means.
Maternity, here I come! Look out, world!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
