Out of my four semesters in college so far, I've definitely learned the most from this one. I can perform a full head-to-toe physical assessment in 30 minutes or less, take vitals, calculate a medication dosage, and tell you more than you would ever want to know about AIDS, heart attacks, diabetes, the immune response, the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle, and over a hundred other disease processes.
So here are some of the things I've learned after one semester of nursing school:
1. Hypoxia will rule the world! Pretty much every disease process results in an oxygen deficiency.
2. Kidneys are extremely important. So take care of the one (or hopefully two) that you've got! Kidneys filter approximately 200 liters of blood per day, plus they control blood volume and blood pressure.
3. You can't memorize everything. It's impossible. There's just too much information out there. It's extremely important to understand concepts.
4. Think critically. As one professor told me: "Nursing is 95% common sense."
5. Take control of your heart health. Heart disease has several unmodifiable risk factors (age, gender, family history), but the factors I can control are diet and exercise.
6. Read the textbook. It actually helps boost your test grade.
7. Don't use medical jargon in front of a patient. He or she is probably already scared or apprehensive, and hearing a bunch of words that don't make sense doesn't help the patient feel in control. I learned this lesson personally: I was so frazzled during our first lab simulation that I wasn't thinking from the patient's perspective and I informed him I was about to auscultate for a carotid bruit. I proceeded to do so without thinking about what I'd done, and I didn't realize my mistake until my instructor gently pointed it out after the simulation was over.
8. As a nursing student, never say, "That's not my job!" I haven't experienced this personally yet, but I've been forewarned. Always follow instructions in the clincal setting, even if it means you have to "go fishing."
And that brings me to...
9. "Going fishing" does not mean a fun day at the lake. I'll let you try to decide for yourself what that could mean...
10. Good nursing care includes patient-centered care! It is the nurse who is the patient's advocate.
Even though I've learned so much, there's still so much that I don't know yet... but I'm so excited for next fall. Clinicals, here I come!
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
Worries and Cares
I can’t believe I’m typing this right now, but I’ve broken down and done something I’ve always said I’d never do:
I’ve created a blog.
I told myself that if I passed my validation today, I’d create a blog about nursing school. I’m not actually narcissistic enough to think that tons of people are deeply interested in my day-to-day life, and I’m not expecting many, if any, to actually read this (Hey, Phebe!). I just can't believe that two years of college are almost gone, and that's slightly terrifying. What's even worse is that I feel like I've already forgotten a lot about it! So this is more for me – a way to gather my thoughts, reflect, and look back on “the best time of my life” (So they say).
Today marks a milestone in my career as a student nurse. I, along with 50-something other classmates, had my first validation: we had to take vital signs. I can’t even think of a way to cohesively explain validations. It’s kind of like a hands-on test (you don’t get a number grade on it – it’s graded on a pass/fail scale) where you have to perform tasks you’ve learned relating to nursing. Later in the semester we’ll have a hand-washing validation (I know, it sounds pretty basic; however, it’s extremely important!!! Hand-washing is one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of infection in a clinical setting) and a head-to-toe physical assessment validation (which will be part of our final). You have to pass each validation in order successfully pass the class; however, you can still fail the class even if you pass every validation. But if you don’t pass the validation on the first try, it’s not the end of the world – for this validation, we had three chances to pass. Nevertheless, today was a rather stressful since it was our very first one!
I think I felt stressed because I just didn’t know what to expect. Last night I felt kind of jittery and couldn’t get my mind off validations, so I decided to watch a couple of episodes of M*A*S*H. It was the right choice. :) This morning, Jessica (my roommate and validations partner) and I were really nervous! I could tell she was nervous because when I took her pulse she was tachycardic (her heart rate was over 100 beats per minute) and I’m pretty sure I would have been, as well, if I hadn’t taken my atenolol (which is a beta-blocker; it slows down the heart rate) the night before.
However, there was no need for us to be concerned! We paid attention in class, went to a practice lab last week, and practiced on each other all week; I feel that we were adequately prepared. I think because it was just our first validation, especially over something extremely fundamental to nursing, we psyched ourselves out. The faculty member who validated us was one of our instructors, and she is such a sweet lady! As soon as she gave us a warm smile as we entered the room, she made us (I’m pretty sure I can speak for Jessica as well) feel at ease and I had a certain peace about it. Jessica went first; she accurately took my temperature, pulse, respiratory rate, and blood pressure. After she passed, I felt more confident about the situation. I took her vital signs, and after I finished taking her blood pressure (which can sometimes be a little tricky to hear, depending on the stethoscope you use), I felt so relieved when I saw the instructor check “Pass” on the validations sheet!
After today, things are finally starting to feel more real. I actually feel like a nursing student now – not just a little kid playing dress-up with a stethoscope hanging around my neck. Facing the future head on, I’m a little scared, a little nervous, but mostly excited. There’s so much to learn – so much knowledge out there – and I just want to dive right in and soak it all up!
“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.”
-1 Peter 5:7
I’ve created a blog.
I told myself that if I passed my validation today, I’d create a blog about nursing school. I’m not actually narcissistic enough to think that tons of people are deeply interested in my day-to-day life, and I’m not expecting many, if any, to actually read this (Hey, Phebe!). I just can't believe that two years of college are almost gone, and that's slightly terrifying. What's even worse is that I feel like I've already forgotten a lot about it! So this is more for me – a way to gather my thoughts, reflect, and look back on “the best time of my life” (So they say).
Today marks a milestone in my career as a student nurse. I, along with 50-something other classmates, had my first validation: we had to take vital signs. I can’t even think of a way to cohesively explain validations. It’s kind of like a hands-on test (you don’t get a number grade on it – it’s graded on a pass/fail scale) where you have to perform tasks you’ve learned relating to nursing. Later in the semester we’ll have a hand-washing validation (I know, it sounds pretty basic; however, it’s extremely important!!! Hand-washing is one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of infection in a clinical setting) and a head-to-toe physical assessment validation (which will be part of our final). You have to pass each validation in order successfully pass the class; however, you can still fail the class even if you pass every validation. But if you don’t pass the validation on the first try, it’s not the end of the world – for this validation, we had three chances to pass. Nevertheless, today was a rather stressful since it was our very first one!
I think I felt stressed because I just didn’t know what to expect. Last night I felt kind of jittery and couldn’t get my mind off validations, so I decided to watch a couple of episodes of M*A*S*H. It was the right choice. :) This morning, Jessica (my roommate and validations partner) and I were really nervous! I could tell she was nervous because when I took her pulse she was tachycardic (her heart rate was over 100 beats per minute) and I’m pretty sure I would have been, as well, if I hadn’t taken my atenolol (which is a beta-blocker; it slows down the heart rate) the night before.
However, there was no need for us to be concerned! We paid attention in class, went to a practice lab last week, and practiced on each other all week; I feel that we were adequately prepared. I think because it was just our first validation, especially over something extremely fundamental to nursing, we psyched ourselves out. The faculty member who validated us was one of our instructors, and she is such a sweet lady! As soon as she gave us a warm smile as we entered the room, she made us (I’m pretty sure I can speak for Jessica as well) feel at ease and I had a certain peace about it. Jessica went first; she accurately took my temperature, pulse, respiratory rate, and blood pressure. After she passed, I felt more confident about the situation. I took her vital signs, and after I finished taking her blood pressure (which can sometimes be a little tricky to hear, depending on the stethoscope you use), I felt so relieved when I saw the instructor check “Pass” on the validations sheet!
After today, things are finally starting to feel more real. I actually feel like a nursing student now – not just a little kid playing dress-up with a stethoscope hanging around my neck. Facing the future head on, I’m a little scared, a little nervous, but mostly excited. There’s so much to learn – so much knowledge out there – and I just want to dive right in and soak it all up!
“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.”
-1 Peter 5:7
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