There is much to blog about this week! And Im blogging on vicoden (which I will get into later) so this should be interesting...lol
First things first....RODEO! Last weekend Cory and I went to the rodeo with Cory's family and it was awesome :D My camera had a difficult time taking the pics because the lighting wasn't so bueno but I still got some ;) Check it out!
Here are some videos from the rodeo as well. We had such a blast!
Here is a video of what we like to call Redneck Child Abuse ;)
Barrel Racing
I didnt get video of the bulls, but I got some video of the bucking horses.
There ya have it, Amarillo Rodeo 08.
This week I did clinicals in the Newborn Nursery, which was pretty exciting. I got to give vaccinations to the infants, bathe them, assess them...one doc even let me in on watching a circumcision...Poor little boys! OW! We had to blog this week about circumcision because evidently it is a controversial subject and I didn't realize that. As nurses, we have to educate the parents on the pros and cons, remain unbias no matter what we believe, and allow the parents to make the best decision for thier infant. Pretty interesting subject. So clinicals went well this week =)
Thursday, I had oral surgery :( And that is why I am on vicoden at the moment. I had the baby canine (on the left side of my mouth) removed. The doc then opened the roof of my mouth, exposed the adult canine that is in the roof of my mouth, put a bracket on it with a chain, and closed it back up. Dont worry, I was totally knocked out for all of this! Larry (dad in law) was with me cuz Cory had class and he came and picked me up from the inlaws house after class. Larry took me straight to the orthodontist after the surgery was done (Im totally dead to myself while all this happening, I vaguely remember walking in to the orthodontist). Dr. Sparkman then took the chain and hooked it to the braces wire...he pulled the chain also but I was so numb that I really dont have a clue what he was doing lol. From there, Larry got me to the couch at thier house where I proceeded to pass out with guaze hanging out of my lips ;) When we got home, I took vicoden and passed out cuz it HURTS! Friday proved difficult. Vicoden makes me a happy girl ;) so I chose not to take it all day Friday because I had homework due at noon and also at midnight. I cant think straight on pain meds lol so I didnt take anything yesterday until last nite. Ask Cory, boy was I crabby. I was hurting soooooo bad :( But as soon as the hmwk was done, I took one! I dont have anything due until Monday so I am taking the vicoden over the weekend and attempting to do hmwk. Its just going really really slow ;) Here is a picture (its blurry) of the roof of my mouth. You can see the chain and where they took the tooth out (the baby tooth is gone)but the roof of my mouth is also incredibly swollen :(
Totally not pleasant >< But one day it will be worth it...
Thats about it...the dogs had a good week too...Here they are playing tug of war, which is a rare event in our house...usually its keep away! Have a great weekend!
Hey folks! This is gonna be a long blog so hold tight. This week has proved extremely emotional. This week when I arrived at clinicals, my instructor took us into a conference room where we proceeded to discuss why we chose nursing as a profession, define nursing, how can you impact other nurses...it was such enjoyable conversation as my fellow students (there were 8 of us there total) had profound things to say. We talked for nearly an hour and half and I was surprised that we werent out on the floor yet. Then the wonderful conversation turned sour. Kathy, my clinical instructor, began to cry and stated "of the 8 of you, only 2 are adequately prepared to safely care for patients today." We were all so shocked. We have to research a certain list of medications before each rotation. Evidently only 2 people had completed those medications. The rest left certain things we need to know blank. Kathy delivered an hour and half long speech to us, that had a few of us in tears. She spoke of professionalism now, and being prepared. She spoke of hwo the way we act now will be the way we act when we are out on the floor on our own. We are not in school to be average nurses, we are in school to change lives and provide the safest care possible. To see Kathy's passion really moved me and it was sad to see her so disappointed in us. However, it was a good thing! We had to research an article that related to professionalism and blog about it on our classes website. I would like to share what I wrote, which pretty much sums up how I feel and what Kathy talked about.
This was an incredibly emotional week for us all. As hard as it is to hear these things, I believe it is something we all needed to hear. I know I needed to hear it. I am going to be very open and that is a very vulnerable thing to do, but here it goes. I will admit that last semester took a toll on my confidence in my nursing career. At the end of last semester, I went from a straight A student to a not so straight A student and it killed me. That fact destroyed my confidence. I feel confident in my skills and I feel my passion is in the right place, but my confidence of the overall picture: am I good enough to get through this semester, let alone nursing school? Am I good enough to pass the NCLEX? Am I good enough to be a nurse, period? All summer I struggled with these questions. When Kathy spoke to us Tuesday, this all changed and she really put my focus in the right place. I REALLY needed to hear what she said. I think we all get caught up in the massive workload we have during the semester with homework, reading, studying, tests, clinicals…We get caught up in just “hoping to pass.” Like Kathy said today, why are we not striving for an A? I was not ok with receiving a C last semester but going into this semester with my confidence level as it was, I was one of those people thinking to themselves “if I can only get through this week; If I can only get a B or a C on this test, I will be alright.” No, that’s not acceptable and Kathy helped me get back where I need to be, striving for the best and not doing it for “the class,” but doing it for my future patients. Nursing school is not like any other degree. Every week, we take lives in our hands. Sure, we know that but when we really look deeper, we have peoples LIVES in OUR hands.
In an article called “I was actually a nurse: The meaning of Professionalism for Baccalaureate Nursing Students,” researchers studied BSN students to discover nursing students perspectives of what it means to be professional. All of the student’s responses related to belonging, knowing and affirmation. The students described belonging as being “a part of the team” with other nurses, doctors, and instructors. We have all felt that way as we have to provide collaborative care and work with others for the best of the patient. But what if we weren’t giving our all because we were not prepared? What would our teammates say? The students described affirmation as a result of their interaction with their patients and others. We feel good when our patients tell us “oh, you are going to be a great nurse!” Knowing we impacted them in such a great way makes us feel so good. If they knew we were only striving for C’s, what would they say then? Finally, the student’s described knowing as an ability to inform patients or family because they know! How do we “know” if we are not striving for the best and giving it all we can to learn the material we need to know to provide safe care?
I do not say all these things to make us feel bad. I think we already feel that way! I know I do. We need to be accountable to ourselves, our instructors, our profession, but most importantly, our patients. I thank Kathy for the things she said to us because I needed to hear it. As hard as it was to hear, it has helped my confidence and brought me back to the right place. It has reminded me that I am here to be a NURSE, to care for others, to serve others and to provide the safest care possible. We might be “nursing students” now but one day we are going to be a “real nurse.” Our patients perceive us as nurses already and we need to live up to that. We should not find our professional identity later. We need to find it now. We are going to make a difference in this world, that’s why we chose this profession. I encourage all of you to take what Kathy said and build and learn from it. You all saw her passion this week and we need to be embrace that passion!
On Wednesday, after clinical, I told Kathy all these things that I blogged about. About my confidence issues and such and I thanked her for her passion and sharing that with us cuz we so needed to hear it. It changed my whole perspective and I feel so much better about my nursing career now! I was crying while talking to her and of course, she started to cry with me and we hugged and embraced and it was a total student/instructor bonding moment! I did find out that I was one of the two that was prepared...PHEW!!!! I was just so incredibly thankful for what she did.
Here is a reply that also reflects how I felt during the week:
AMEN TYLER! I am right by your side beginning a new nursing life as well. We can be “born again nursing students” together! I don’t believe that our lack of confidence makes us weak. I think it demonstrates humanity. We are able to take that, benefit from it and become better nurses because of it. It would be so much easier to just give up and quit, but we did not choose this profession to quit. We chose this profession to change lives. We chose this profession because we want to make a difference. You are so right that we need to responsible, accountable, understanding and trustworthy. There are so many things that make a nurse and we need to encompass all those values. I want to thank you for being vulnerable too. It’s good to know that I am not alone and that we can encourage one another and lift each other up. We can do this!!!
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Kathy responded to all of our blogs with this:
To each of you...I am SO incredibly proud of each one of you! I am smiling as I write this, but by eyes are full of tears. YOU have each shared yourselves with one another...many of you putting yourselves and your emotions right out on the line. Others have responded with encouragement, praise and heartfelt caring. This has been an emotional week for many of us, but mostly for you all. It started Tuesday in clinicals, and you were forced to endure me again on Thursday in class. Hat off to each of you. Your grace, your caring, and your willingness to take on this project of Professionalism in Nursing has been such a blessing to me! I love you all! You have reminded me why I love being a nurse. I am one of you, too. Don't ever forget that. We must encourage and support one another....always! If you haven't joined WTNSA yet, I strongly encourage you to come out on Monday at 1200 noon and join alongside me. We will be a great team together! As someone posted, let's be "born again" nurses, using this week's events to change us forever! Thank you for all your postings, comments, and encouraging words. I am so proud of you. Have a great weekend! Kathy
What an amazing, lifechanging week. I also got to help deliver babies this week! I participated in two births on Tuesday and I was pretty much thrown in thier as the baby was being born. I was holding a leg ;) On Wednesday, I took care of this new momma from 3 cm dilation all the way thru recovery. She was a delight to care for becuz she was so excited to be a new mom! I got to help her push before the doc got in, I held her leg and gave encouragment during the actual labor and helped in recovery after birth (We have to rub the uterus every 15 mins to make sure that it shrinks and tightens up to its original size to prevent hemorrhaging and help her with her new baby!) It was so exciting. I cried each time. I witnessed miracles this week. Simply amazing. Praise God for the amazing things He can do!!!
On a total non emotional note, LOL, I will end with some photos of my flowerbed. Everything began to bloom this week so I was very excited! (ok, so a lil emotional ;) ) YAY!
We also had to buy a rug to cover in front of the fireplace where Luna snarfed some carpet until we get a chance to fix it. Vala has decided it is the greatest thing that has ever happened to her. This is only a small fraction of what she usually does. But I was able to catch a tiny footage of a psycho kitty freakout! Enjoy!
Sorry that the gaps between blogs have become quite long. These past few weeks have been crazy, I feel like I'm drowning in school. This past week I was on the pediatric floor and I was quite nervous when I got there, but after I was there for a bit, it was really quite fun. I enjoyed it! Today and tomorrow I am in labor and delivery so I am pretty excited about that!
The past week and weekend has been quite eventful for me. Cory claims nothing to exciting for his week, other than homework and TA-ing. School was busy because I had 4 chapters due on Thursday (study guide/writing out objectives) and those take me about 2-3 hours each to do :( , OB med cards due on Thursday and my paperwork for the week also due Thursday. It was hectic. But thankfully, I made it through it. Thursday, I met with the volunteer coordinator for Hospice care of the Southwest and will hopefully be starting that this week or next. I will be visiting 4-6 hospice patients at a nursing home each month and multiple times if I am able. I am very excited to start! I spent most of my past weekend studying because I had a test yesterday. It was hard so I am not quite sure how I did :| On Saturday, our neighbors, the Harrisons, came over and asked us a crazy question..."would you like our garage door?" Say what?! When we moved in our garage door worked and looked fine, but was slightly banged up. It was bolted together and we think that whoever lived here before backed into it. They knew that our garage wasnt the best of garages and offered us thier old one because they were getting a new insulated one. WOW! So the guys that were there installing the Harrison's garage came to our house and installed thier old one at our house and disposed of our old one. How awesome, we have a new garage!!! That saved us about $1500 because we were planning to replace our garage before we moved. Thanks Lord for blessing us once again and thanks for such generous people!!! We also finished our 2nd week of Financial Peace University. This class was given to us from the Jacksons and the Landas as a wedding gift and we have finally found a class that is in our hometown and works well for our schedules. It is such a blast! We watch a Dave Ramsey seminar on DVD and then we go to small groups. It is sooooooo much fun and what a wealth of knowledge we are gaining. =) Its awesome!
In Luna news, she has to use the kennel again for awhile until rug eating braincells have diminished. She was doing so great for nearly 2 months, then one day I came home and she had pulled up and shredded the carpet by our fireplace >< She got in trouble ans we gave her a second chance and left her out the next day, and she did it again. We got a rug to cover it for now. Eventually, when we find time, Cory thinks we can fix it by cutting out a piece of carpet from one of the closets. *sigh* the joy of puppies....
This weekend we have plans to attend the rodeo at the tri-state fair with the Smiths so I am looking forward to that. I LOVE THE RODEO!
Here are some photos from the past month =) Have a great week everyone.
This week has proved just as crazy as the last week. I started clinicals so that was exciting. I worked in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) working with premature babies you can hold in one hand and babies born with different birth defects. One infant was so sick that the parents were having to consider taking her off the ventilator. It was a heartbreaking area to work. So sad what some of these parents have to go through. Also heartbreaking because some of the infants have severe medical problems because the mother neglected to take care of herself while pregnant. It was an eye opening experience. Next week I will be working on the pediatric floor. I am a little nervous for that. But I look at it this way, there have been plenty of things in nursing school I have been terrified to do and overcome those obstacles so I can do this ;) Cory has changed his schedule a bit so he is at Texas Tech pretty much all day and finally got his TA job figured out. He will be teaching/assisting in a MatLAB four times a week and also grading papers. Our entire week consist of coming home and doing homework. We have also been jogging 1.2 miles four times a week. Amazing how much easier it has gotten over the past 2 weeks for the both of us. The dogs really enjoy the jogs. I also had a consult with an oral surgeon this week about having my baby canine removed. I really like the doctor but I am quite nervous for the procedure. My adult canine is in the roof of my mouth. He is going to cut into the roof of my mouth, put a bracket and chain on the tooth up there, remove the baby canine and slowly over time my orthodontist will pull the adult tooth down. I know a few people who have done this but still, its scary :| I am calling them back on Monday to schedule an appointment.
This past weekend we went to Quitaque and went hunting. It was alot of fun but really angered my allergies. Cory is fixin to go back today to hunt dove but I am staying behind so my allergies will not try and kill me like they did last weekend. Here are pictures of last weekend ;)
