Holiday Fun in Balmer

The past week has brought lots of fun things that have made me VERY excited for the holidays. First was the lighting of the George Washington Monument in Mt. Vernon. There were fireworks, music, vendors and lots of people. Unfortunately it seems that not all the lights actually turned on but it was quite exciting nonetheless.



Then last night as a study break (and my first adventure outside that day) Maren, Jessica and I went to see some Christmas lights on a famous street in Hampden.




Now I am really ready to get home for Christmas!!

Check it off the List

I am now DONE with my psych clinical! Woohoo! It was definitely a lot more interesting than I thought and a great learning experience but I am VERY happy to be DONE!!

Kind of Strange

I officially applied for graduation today. I am not even halfway done with school yet! How funny and exciting! Can't wait for July 24, 2009!!!

50% Nurse

I am just one day of classes, two days of clinical and three finals away from being halfway done with my program and on to three weeks of vacation!

I just got back from Thanksgiving in Seattle where I had a lovely break and the chance to see lost of family and Steve! I flew for a very long time but it was worth it.

My flight home was uneventful and I had a chance to do some reading. Not for school mind you . . . I am currently (and somewhat embarrassed to admit) addicted to the Twilight Saga. I am now two books in and cannot wait to get home and read the last two.

Once I got home I spent some time in Seattle, hung out with Steve's family, then it was on to my parents house. It was great to see everyone!

My trip back was not quite as uneventful . . . being the nice person that I am, I gave up my seat to a married couple with an itty bitty baby and got stuck in the middle seat. My flight was a bit bumpy but we landed so I can't complain too much. It took me two hours to get home from the airport and the shuttle driver pulled over on the side of the highway to relieve himself but eventually I did make it back!


Here are some pictures! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

I can hardly believe . . .

That it is almost Thanksgiving! At the beginning of the semester it felt like forever but now that it is almost over it seems that time has flown by. I am looking forward to heading back to Seattle on Tuesday . . . I am just one paper away!

Happy Holidays!

Aww Poop . . .

I thought when I had my rotation in Psych Mental Health I would have a break from bodily fluids and the sort but alas it isn't so. Apparently all fields of nursing have an equal opportunity for exposure to poop. Yes I know that feces is a more polite term but to me it will always be poo. Apparently I look like just the gal to assign the older adult with bowel incontinence. Now don't get me wrong my patient was a sweetheart, I enjoyed my TWO days of working with him and I learned a ton but alas I was once again reminded that adult feces are not my forte. Fortunately the patient had lovingly supplied air freshener so I could mask the odor quite nicely with the smell of flowers but not before gagging just a little bit. Give me blood, wounds, needles, even vomit and NO problem but throw in some poop or even worse a colostomy (patient from the summer) and I crumble just a little bit. They have told us throughout nursing school that every nurse has SOMETHING they have trouble with and it was confirmed once again for me that adult poop is mine . . . I guess that is why I see pediatrics in my future.

I am sorry for the very graphic nature of this post but if I can't share it here my friends then where exactly CAN I share it. Enjoy the rest of your week!

Steve's Visit

I was SO happy to get to see Steve this past weekend. Here is what we did on his visit to Baltimore . . . it was jam packed!

Friday Steve got to Baltimore at about 5 and after I picked him up we headed to Iggie's, my favorite pizza place in Baltimore. Afterward we went to a Halloween party at a friend's house. I was a rabbit and Steve was a pumpkin.


Saturday morning we drove to Gettysburg and did the two hour auto tour around the battlefields. It was a very interesting experience and I definitely recommend it! Fall is definitely here and the trees were gorgeous! Below are pictures. That evening, after getting back to Baltimore, we went to Little Italy for dinner and ate at Sabatino's. It was delicious but if you go be sure to share or expect leftovers for at least two meals!




Sunday we went to Max's in Fells Point. They have about 15 TV's and delicious pulled pork nachos. Steve watched football and I studied for my pharmacology test.

Steve left Monday morning but I am happy to report that I am heading home in just three weeks for Thanksgiving and then just two weeks after that for my Christmas break!! Classes are going well, I had test three of four in pharmacology today and a psychology test tomorrow . . . wish me luck!

Thought for the Day

The problem with having a studio is that after you make dinner the whole place smells. It permeates everything! One dinner of teriyaki chicken cooked on a grill pan and the whole place smells for days. I even opened the window to let in the gale force winds that Baltimore is currently blowing but all I ended up with was a stinky windy apartment. Now I suppose that there are worse smells than cooked chicken but still . . .

From Babies to Psych

I finished my labor and delivery rotation today and next week I am moving on to psychiatric nursing. I will be working at a hospital in an inpatient unit where they have a wide range of disorders (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, etc). I can't wait for my first post after that! I have heard from the group that did psych the first part of the semester that basically I will be solidifying my ability to ask questions!

Anyway, a final update on how my labor and delivery rotation finished up. I did finally get to see a vaginal delivery! It was an amazing experience but honestly not all that different looking than the videos! My patient received an epidural so even my doula skills were not that useful since she couldn't feel anything. I put in her catheter so more experience there. My patient was particularly lucky because she only pushed for about 15 minutes and had no complications at all! It was a baby girl, 6lbs 1oz and she was adorable. I again got to do eyes and thighs on the baby and vitals every 30 minutes.

I am happy to be another step closer to graduating! I can't believe that half the semester is already done and it is getting close to Thanksgiving! Thank goodness time seems to fly by!

It's A Boy!

I had my first baby today! It was a repeat cesarean section. The baby boy was born a healthy 8 pounds. It was a fantastic experience and I loved the OR experience. Here is a bit about my day:

• 7:30 introduce myself to the patient and her husband and hope she likes me enough to do her foley.
• 7:45 put in my first foley! It was an interesting experience but it went pretty well. It is a little tougher than you might think but my patient didn't complain and she had no anesthesia so it couldn't have been too bad.
• 8:00 into the OR and out of the way.
• 8:05 watch the spinal placed . . . very cool.
• 8:15 again out of the way as much as possible with the best view possible and they start to cut. I am always AMAZED by the human body and to be able to see the inner workings makes it even better!
• 8:30 baby out and over to the pediatricians. I have about five minutes from this point to try and remember everything I am supposed to do and put on my gloves.
• 8:35 do "eyes and thighs" which is the babies very first shot (sorry) and the eye ointment in both eyes. I also did respirations, heart rate and the official foot prints
• 8:40 swaddle the baby and hand to dad so that the mom can see her little bundle of joy!
• 8:50 doctors finish closing and we move into recovery
• 9:00-10:30 stay in recovery, hang out with the family and take babies vitals every 30 minutes.
• 10:30 mom headed to postpartum and I am DONE!

It was such an amazing experience. I am hoping for a vaginal birth tomorrow!

Two Different Shoes

No, that is not the name of a song . . . I actually wore two different shoes today. I got to class and looked down at my foot and thought, hm, I didn't mean to wear that shoe. This caused me to look at my other foot and sure enough I had on one shiny black shoe and one not shiny blue shoe. Fortunately at least they were the same brand. OOPS!

Another Week Done

So I finished another week! Starting on week 6 this week and getting really close to the halfway point for this semester. I am definitely not used to semesters. This 14 week thing seems awfully long!

My Friday was good. Still no babies BUT I did get to be a part of the labor process. The woman I was working with on Friday went from 2cm to 6cm while I was there but the end of the day came to quickly and there was no baby while I was there. It was great practice for birth companions though!

The Cake concert I went to Thursday night was lots of fun. Below is a picture.

Anyway, my weekend was spent studying, a Friday run to get sundaes and a little bit of shopping. It is back to class tomorrow with a big Pharm test on Wednesday!

The Placentas Go in There . . .

Last week I did orientation to the labor and delivery (L&D) department for the start of my L&D rotation. The tour went like this . . . these are the L&D suites, this is the OR, here is the staff restroom, here is the nutrition room, supplies . . . oh and the placentas go in here. For some reason I haven't been able to get that comment out of my head!

Anyway, today was my first day of L&D and it was quite uneventful. My instructor assigned patients starting with the first of the alphabet and since my last name starts with an "S" I didn't get a patient today. It was a pretty boring day of sitting around but I did get the chance to see a spinal and a tubal ligation (tubes tied) which was pretty interesting.

I have never seen a spinal and it was pretty crazy. You definitely hear a "POP" as it gets inserted into the right place and there was definitely cerebral spinal fluid dripping out for a second after it was placed BUT the lady felt NOTHING from the armpits down so I guess it did the job.

Tomorrow is day two of L&D and me and the other girl who didn't see a birth today have been promised a woman who is fairly well dilated . . . should be a good Friday! Oh and I am off to a Cake concert this evening so I get to have a bit of fun as well!

Just Like a Blind Date

I went on my first prenatal visit today to meet one of the mothers that I am a prospective birth companion for. It was just like a blind date . . . fortunately she is quite pregnant so when I was looking for them in the coffee shop she stuck out like a sore thumb.

Overall I think the meeting went well. Generally for birth companions there are supposed to be two of us that attend the birth but it looks like she would prefer just one. We will see how it goes!

Delicious Recipe

I have been a cooking maniac today. First, I made and froze homemade chili (YUM) and then for dinner I made this spicy pasta sauce from a recipe my mom sent. The sauce was delicious so I thought I would share!

Bon Appetit!

Spicy Tomato Sauce

3 T. olive oil
1 small onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup pitted Kalamata olives, coarsely chopped
2 T. drained capers, rinsed
salt to taste
generous pinch of red pepper flakes
28 ounce can Italian plum tomatoes, crushed

In a large skillet heat the oil over a medium high flame. When almost smoking, add the onion and garlic and sauté for 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and add the olives, capers, salt, and red pepper flakes. Saute for one minute. Add the tomatoes and simmer until reduced slightly, about 20 minutes. Check seasonings and adjust if necessary.

(This is delicious with penne or rigatoni)

Ideas Welcome . . .

I have fewer classes this semester and more time on my hands which means more free time for me. So I am sitting in my apartment trying my darndest not to study too much today but I am running out of things to do. I had dinner, my apartment is clean, I have no laundry, I have caught up with friends via e-mail, I have stalked my share of people on both myspace and facebook and that is about all I can think of.

Your ideas are welcome for how I can fill my time.

Fall?

I heard that fall technically started but I am still not sure I believe it. It has been increasingly cooler here in Baltimore but the sun is still shining and it still gets into the 70's. I hope the leaves start to turn colors soon, I am ready!

I just finished week 4 of classes and can't believe I am more than halfway done with my OB class. I just had my midterm and in just 3 short weeks I will be done and on to psych! I finished my birth companion class and have a couple of mothers signed up to work with which is really exciting. I get to switch from postpartum to labor and Delivery on Friday. Hopefully I will have an exciting story and get to see my first birth!

I also got the chance to go see Tara and Lisa in DC last weekend. It was a bunch of fun and really great to see some old friends.

Cross your fingers for a good story on Friday!

Yikes!!

I have been assigned a mother for my birth companions course. She is due on September 26th . . . kind of scary but exciting at the same time!!!

Fall Semester is Underway

I just completed week two of my fall semester so I thought I better update on what has been going on in Baltimore. I have fewer classes this semester so a bit more non-class time on my hands, however, now my free time has been taken up with memorizing various drugs, studying pathophysiology and things about childbearing.

My classes this semester are a bit harder than last but very interesting. It is really fun to see all the information come together. I love my clinical rotation so far this semester. I am working in the postpartum department and working with new mom's. I have learned how to do a full postpartum assessment, given my first medications and even my first shot! This clinical is a lot more hands on which I really enjoy! I am starting to feel like a real nurse!

I have two more weeks of postpartum and then I will do labor and deliver for a few weeks before switching clinicals and moving on to psych. I am really looking forward to seeing some babies being born! The rotation this time is just SO happy, I leave every day feeling energized since there are so many happy people around.

I have started my doula training and I have a long seminar this weekend. I should be working with my first mom in the next couple of weeks. If you are interested in reading more about Doulas you can visit http://www.dona.org/. I am just so impressed with everything I have learned about being a Doula and what a fantastic thing it is to do.

Anyway, that is about it from me! The weather here is not so good which will make it easier to stay in and study. I have my first exam of the semester next week so its time to crack down and study.

More to come later . . .

I'm Back!!

After a three week, wonderful break in Seattle . . . I am back. I got back to Baltimore on Wednesday and I will be starting classes on Tuesday, right after Labor Day.

When I was home it was fabulous to see everyone! Below are some photos from my trip! I will be back again in December, I can't wait to see you all again.

Also, I started blogging on my schools website, feel free to check it out.
http://www.son.jhmi.edu/blogs/

Whidbey Island





BBQ at Steve's




Wedding


Samish Island

One Semester Down . . .

. . . three to go! I finished up finals yesterday and after a long day of celebration, I am getting ready to head back to Seattle in a few hours.

The first semester was a whirlwind with more information thrown at me than I ever thought possible. It was a fantastic experience. I am excited for the three week break and then its back to the races! There will be a bit of studying over break considering they assigned about 20 chapters of reading in my next semester classes but I am excited to see friends and family.

I am really looking forward to next semester . . . I will get to spend two days in the hospital rather than the one that we had this semester which will be great experience!

Falls

In studying for my aging final today, I came across the definition for falls and for some reason I really enjoy it.

Falls: An event which results in a person unintentionally coming to rest on the ground or another lower level.

I Can Hardly Believe It

It is kind of crazy but my first semester of classes (minus finals) is done! I finished my last classes today, have my finals next week and then will be heading back to Seattle for a much needed break!

A Note to Nurses

PLEASE turn your patients. I saw a stage four pressure ulcer on the sacrum of an older adult today, it was crazy AND totally preventable with the proper care. Turn patients at least every two hours and you can prevent skin breakdown! Do it!!

If you have never seen one, google it and take a look. They are pretty gnarly.

Doula!!

I am going to be a doula! Below is a definition.

Doula: A non-medical assistant in childbirth. A doula is not the father but is usually a woman who is experienced in childbirth. The role of the doula is to provide the mother with physical and emotional assistance before, during, or after childbirth. Also known as a birth assistant, birth companion, childbirth assistant, or labor support professional.

I can't wait!!

Words of the Day

Pruritic: Itchy

Trichotillomania: The compulsion to tear or pluck out the hair on one's head and face and often to ingest it.

The second one may not be all that useful in every day conversation but I just really like saying it.

Pictures!

My Mom sent me pictures and I finally have time to upload them! These are a sampling of pictures from my parent's and Steve's visit around the 4th of July with commentary.

Fells Point the first night everyone arrived.

Breakfast at Jimmy's on the 4th of July

Fort McHenry (please note my dad looking into the front of the cannon)

Watching the fireworks . . . one of the best shows I have seen.

Crab Feast!

Trip to Annapolis

Dinner before Steve left at La Scala . . . I highly recommend it!

My parents played paparazzi while I was leaving school. Yes I am wearing jeans and a sweater and yes it was 90 degrees outside . . . the AC works at school.

Dinner at Pazzo before my parents left . . . I also recommend this restaurant!

Mom and me on the water.


It was fabulous to see Steve and my parents. Come and visit!!

3 More Weeks . . .

. . . and I will be 1/4 of a nurse! Kind of hard to believe but my first semester of nursing school is wrapping up. I have two more weeks of class and then finals and then I get a three week break.

While my parents were here my mom took some pictures of my school so I thought I would post them since this is where I spend 99% of my time in Baltimore. Enjoy!

Misc. Pictures

I finally uploaded all sorts of pictures from my camera and here they are (with commentary):

Post-Clinical trip to Trader Joe's, uniforms and all.


Tara and Eleni came to visit and have brunch!


Mom, Dad and Steve in town for the 4th of July weekend.



Caught in a rainstorm without an umbrella.


I will have MANY more pictures from when my parents and Steve were here once I get them from my Mom. Enjoy these for now!

Classes!!

I registered for Fall Semester on Tuesday! Here is what I will be taking:

- Nursing the Childbearing Family (7 Weeks)
- Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing (7 Weeks)
- Pathophysiology (Whole Semester)
- Pharmacology (Whole Semester)

The first two are my clinical courses and switch halfway through the semester. I am trying to get into the Birthing Companions course as well so I can be a registered Doula. Keep your fingers crossed!

Procrastination, truly the best medicine

I am FINALLY finishing up a very intense week. Lets review things that were due within 7 days:

- Dosage Calcuation Online Exam

- IPOC (ie, long ridiculous plan of care)

- Online Quiz about the Abdomen

- Medicine Administration Sign-Offs

- Issues in Aging Exam

- Take Home Midterm

- Writing assignment on Cardiovascular/Peripheral Vascular systems

- P&A Exam

- Issues in Aging Paper

Okay, I think that's it but you get the point! Actually the P&A exam is tomorrow and thus my procrastination! I am definitely looking forward to my Mom and Dad and Steve coming on Thursday! I can't wait for a small break.

Just a brief update, aside from all of the above (which I am almost done with) I did have a chance to have a bit of fun! Ry, a girl in my program, had her birthday part last Saturday which I attended. Below are a couple pictures. She lives in a converted church that was made into condos. It is quite possibly the coolest house I have been in. I didn't get pictures of the house this time but I will work on that for a future post.