You are currently browsing the monthly archive for November 2007.
| Your Personality is Very Rare (INFP) |
 Your personality type is dreamy, romantic, elegant, and expressive. Only about 5% of all people have your personality, including 6% of all women and 4% of all men |
Nursing school has been the most physically, emotionally, and mentally demanding experience of my life during which an incredible amount of knowledge has been thrust upon me in a short amount of time. When I first received my acceptance letter, I expected to be fully prepared by graduation. But I now realize that nursing school is just a boot camp. The real world of nursing still lies ahead of me. And I am scared.
My last 88 clinical hours are spent one-on-one with a preceptor. I feel as though I’m experiencing a proper clinical for the first time since I’m finally able to concentrate on my nursing care instead of hurriedly filling out a stack of papers for classes between medication times. This preceptorship was supposed to be a time to get better acquainted with “real” nursing, but it has also served to show me just how sorely lacking I am of practical skills.
Instructors have attempted to alleviate any voiced concerns by telling us that those skills are perfected on the job. Perfected, yes, but performed for the first time? All of my clinicals have been light on skills. I’ve only had 3 successful IV starts (on beautiful, bounding veins). I’ve never placed an NG tube or performed a tube feeding. I’ve completed trach care once. I’ve yet to change any dressing. In fact, the only skill I’m completely comfortable with is placing catheters. (Give me your foley!)
I’ve never had full responsibility for one patient (without an instructor or nurse hovering nearby), much less seven. I’ve never given report or called a doctor. IV pumps are a mystery to me. (Damn occlusions!) I’m still amazed at the handwriting that doctors get away with. (Weren’t there rumors of legislation covering this dangerous practice?) Medications are a nightmare. (I can’t keep up with generic and brand names.) I’ve never experienced a code(or provided postmortem care). I haven’t even mastered “driving” a hospital bed.
We’re inundated with theories of nursing care and management but left to fend for ourselves outside the classroom walls without any practical tools. If I could change the curriculum, I would try to strike a better balance between theory and practical application. At the most basic level (which I find myself), I need to know how to do something as well as why I do it. Eventually every nurse will work out a system for herself (or himself), but give us something we can use until then. And if you’re going to teach us just one way to do something, don’t pick the least practical and efficient method. It is incredibly frustrating to learn that the one way I do know doesn’t actually work in a clinical setting.
This is where the nurses come in. Their experience fills in the gap between the school and clinical settings. I’m indebted to the fabulous staff nurses who have taken time to teach me how to be a nurse. Every nurse I’ve encountered has shown me something new that can only be learned through experience. I wish that this preceptorship would have been much longer. Those 88 hours add up to just over 7 shifts. A week isn’t long enough to immerse anyone into the world of nursing.
I do believe that nurse extern/apprentice positions can be invaluable to a student, but it really depends on the facility. I spent a year on a cardiac step-down unit and a summer in the ICU, and I was used mostly as a unit secretary and aide. Aside from blood draws and catheters, I didn’t get to practice much skills.
Regardless of curriculum, I don’t think I would ever feel ready for the responsibility that is nursing. That confidence comes with experience that only comes with time. So this past Thanksgiving I found myself grateful for family, friends, good health, great nurses, and a minimum 3 months hospital orientation upon hire.
I finished the knitting of this hat/ski mask. What I thought might be an adorable hat on me is in fact quite the opposite. I have a good sized head, so most hats turn out too small. I was astonished to find this hat too big. Too much knitted fabric to fold up around my head. I don’t really want to embroider the skull features, but I’m going to make myself do it. Hopefully I can find someone with an enormous head who wants a hat/ski mask with skull embroidery.
Edit: Not going to happen. I’ve frogged the ridiculous white blob, and I’ve started another hat. Cuter, much smaller, and lacier.
life is all about
choosing your own adventures,
but you can’t go back
choosing your own adventures,
but you can’t go back
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photo by amster_girl
What kind of yarn are you?
You are Mohair.You are a warm and fuzzy type who works well with others, doing your share without being too weighty. You can be stubborn and absolutely refuse to change your position once it is set, but that’s okay since you are good at covering up your mistakes.
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safety in his armscradling my lover’s head
whole body embrace
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I passed my HESI exit exam!!!! My graduation is definite, and I’m ready to now pass out from delirious relief. My last big hurdle (NCLEX) won’t be until January. After I’ve graduated. With my BSN.
Finally.
