Becoming a Nurse

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An update on my transition into nursing.  Thoughts on community nursing, homecare.

OK, this is so old these guys have probably graduated by now! It's brilliant, cute and hilariously funny. I just could not resist.

Quicktime Video Flash Video The other night, Leeloo, our parrot, decided to take in a look around the neighborhood. Somehow, she hitched a ride out on an unsuspecting/distracted shoulder. This caused us one of the most frightening nights we have had. Seeing that the temperature was to drop below 40, we were sure our little tropical girl would have a tough night. So we put out our posters out around the neighborhood and went to bed fearing the worst. The next morning brought the best possible news. Leeloo foun her way onto the terrace of a family nearby. They found our "lost"posters while preparing to put their "found" posters out and called us right away. A miracle we are very grateful for! Welcome home, Leeloo!

Quicktime Flash Ok, it's a little long. Getting back into the videoblogging groove. I have seen pigeons around town do this flying sun dance before and have always wanted to catch it. While running some errands on a beautiful day yesterday, I finally did. Also some random driving footage on a glorious fall day. Pink Floyd, "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" from the Ummagumma album provides the perfect spacey soundtrack.

Quicktime Flash Reflections on my first year. Still a work in progress. Feeling much more confident now, though. Still no regrets on my chosen path. Funny how my last two reflections posts echo each other. Variations on a theme. I did not notice this until after I made the post and looked back at my last one.

Quicktime version Flash Version I have been missing in action for several months. This post is the first post reflecting on a very difficult time in my transition to life as a new nurse. I realized after I looked at this video that one might construe my comments to be critical of my preceptor. This is not the case for me. My preceptor was a lovely and talented nurse who did everything she could to nurture me. The mismatch for me had more to do with the facility itself and the pace there. I am just aware that some other nurses in my class had issues with their preceptors or coworkers.

nn nnnnWatch the videonn Reflections on transitioning into nursing and New Years wishes.nn

Quicktime Flash I am beginning to understand that nursing school is just the tip of the iceberg. Becoming a nurse is a transition that goes deeper than the knowledge and is an ongoing process. There are practical changes. Then there are the deeper changes in perspective. It's more than a change of career. It's a change of heart.

Quicktime Version Flash Version Reflections on my first real nursing week. Three 12 hour shifts in a row. I am loving it... the hospital, the patients, the coworkers, all of it. Of course, I only have two patients right now. Let's see how I sound when I ramp up to seven. (Leeloo makes an amusing guest appearance)

Click for Quicktime Version Click for Flash version Another new beginning. Reflecting on my first two and a half weeks as a gainfully employed nurse. I am so gratefull and excited to be beginning my new career as an oncology nurse. I just finished orientation and tomorrow is my first day on the Ortho-Neuro unit working as a nurse.

click here to download Quicktime version click here to download Flash version It's amazing how a simple piece of paper can make you feel.

click here to download QuickTime click here to download Flash Video Pre-graduation reflections. OK, this got posted a couple of days after the fact! But it was made two days before I took the HESI (exit exam). More to come! Don't worry "Becoming A Nurse" is still a work in process and will not fade into the woodwork. Many, many thanks to all the wonderful supportive folks out there. Sorry for not posting more in the last few weeks. Things just got kind of intense.

Click here or on picture to see Quicktime version Click here to see Flash version Just a quick post about my experience observing in the Operating Room. Brain surgery, no less. Wow. Amazing stuff.

click here to download Quicktime version click here to download Flash Version Last week I had the priviledge of spending a clinical day in the Emergency Department. It was an amazing, eye-opening experience. Hats off to ER nurses - you are a special breed. When the s@%t hits the fan, these folks are the embodiment of TEAMWORK. It was amazing to see what can be accomplished when a commited group of people band together for a greater purpose - the preservation of a human life.

click here to download Quicktime version click here for flash version For day two of videoblogging rerun week. My very first vlog ever. Done with my cell phone...yikes.

click here to download For videoblog rerun week: Here is an early vlog for me from July 15, 2005. This was my cubicle in my old life....

click here to download video OK, calling all nurses, lets play "What's in your pocket?" What do you consider essential in your scrub pocket? Tips and tricks from the "Experienced Ones" solicited!

click here to download Look what I found at the farmer's market!!! In downtown Brooklyn, of all places Yeah! Strawberries. Hello, summer (almost).

click here to download OK, I'm sorry but I love blip.tv. The Blip folks had a party last week to celebrate their success. They were kind enough to invite the blip-users yahoo group.... Thanks Blip.tv! Without these guys my vlog would not exist and if anyone is setting up a new vlog I urge you to give them a shot(http://blip.tv). Easy crossposting to your blog and the Internet Archive, too. Ok, I'm sorry to be a commercial but it's great to see such a nice bunch of people do well.

click here to download Leeloo chills with her main man. I am trying to cut back on the Leeloo vids but she was being so sweet I could not help myself....

click here to download Why I videoblog. Why I watch videoblogs. Why I believe videoblogging can be a powerful force for expanding our perception of communities and individuals and for breaking down stereotypes. It's way too long, I appologize. I talk too slow and too much. I am working on that. I had a lot on my mind. For the nurses: I do discuss why I blog/vlog about my nursing school experiences and i discuss culturally sensitive nursing. For the folks whose work I used: Those of you whose licenses I was not sure about, I contacted. The folks with a CC share alike license, I just used your footage. I hope that is ok, please contact me if there is a problem and hopefully we can work it out. The "White" Guy Mashup (Order of Appearance) Richard BF: All White Guys, http://www.kashum.com Paul Reynoldson: Why The World Laughs at America, http://paulreyno.blogspot.com Steve Garfield: People Are Future, I Can't Open It http://stevegarfield.blogs.com/videoblog Michael Verdi: The Yang of Videoblogging, http://michaelverdi.com Markus Sandy: Elevator Pitch, http://apperceptive.blogspot.com Jay Dedman: The Talking Head Argument, http://www.momentshowing.net/momentshowing Jerry Verdi: Wishbone, http://jerryverdi.com Daily Dancer: Always Look On The Bright Side, http://dailydancer.com Paul J Knight: Why The World Laughs At America, http://pjkproductions.blogspot.com Daniel Liss: Season's Greetings, http://mookievlog.blogspot.com Schlomo Rabinowitz: Lets Go To WonderCon, http://schlomolog.blogspot.com Andrew Schneider: Degrees of Harmonies, http://whetherman.blogspot.com Dave Huth: Extraordinary Things 4, http://davemedia.blogspot.com  

click here to download There has been an intense discussion on the Yahoo Videobloggers list about sexism in the vlogosphere.  Someday, I may actually have something intelligent to add to that discussion.  Right now, though, I am just going to tell a knob joke.  This post requires some backstory to fully enjoy - If so inclined, the links are here: Sexism debate  CAUTION: Includes some fairly tame profanity.  If that bugs you - please don't watch. 

click here to download Reflections on my OB clinical rotation, the home strech of this semester in nursing school, and life in general. Things are definitely looking up. Now it's time to study, study, study for finals next week. Then it's three weeks off before summer session!

click here to play video Reflections on today. A long and difficult day. It is an enlightening experience to be a patient's wife. Now that I am also in the role of professional caregiver, I find the extra knowledge I have aquired has positive and negative aspects... I am once again amazed at the experienced nurses and how supportive they can be to the family as well as their patients while doing 1001 things. What a priviledge it will be to join this community.

Watch the video Reflections on this semester in nursing school, specifically clinicals. There has been a lot of stuff going on in my life, causing some self-doubt. It has not been easy. I will be posting more on the subject. I am determined to make it through.

Hey guys and gals- I have been doing some serious beefing up of the General Nursing Links section of the sidebar on the right. I am trying to add links to more specialty nursing associations. If you have suggestions for additions please drop me a comment.

Okay, so I have been tagged by Student Nurse, prn (sorry for being so slow on the uptake). This is going to be tough, because I can think of at least a dozen for many of these categories: Four Jobs I've Had in My Life: 1. Counter waitress at Howard Johnson's, Brattleboro, Vt. 2. Photo finish operator at Hinsdale Race Track, Hinsdale, NH 3. Computer Geek (20 years of variations on this theme), Stonybrook University; JP Morgan Chase 4. Shovelling horse and cow poo, painting barns, planting, pruning, and weeding tomato plants, picking tomatoes, driving a small tractor(tilling and spraying), Brattleboro, Vt. Four Movies I Could Watch Over and Over (only four! Darn. I could think of dozens!): 1. American Beauty 2. 2001 a Space Odysey (almost any Kubric to tell the truth, 'cept that last one: Eyes Wide... Yeech It's Tom Cruise) 3. Office Space 4. It's a Wonderful Life Honorable Mention: A Fish Called Wanda, The Fifth Element, Blade Runner... Four Places I Have Lived: 1. New York, NY (born there) 2. Brattleboro, VT (spent my very misspent youth there) 3. Munich, Germany 4. Park Slope, Brooklyn (last 11 years) Four TV Shows I Love to Watch: 1. Anything on Discovery Health Channel 2. Any flavor of CSI (used to love Quincy when I was a kid) 3. Old Twilight Zones 4. ER Four Places I Have Been on Vacation: 1. Iceland (honeymoon- had a blast) 2. New Orleans, LA 3. Huntington Ravine, Mount Washington in NH 4. Alta Four Websites I Visit Daily: 1. Sitemeter (I am a stats addict) 2. my blog 3. blackboard.pace.edu 4. googleHonerable mention: people in my sidebar! I try to get to them all at least once a week. But sometimes its tough! Four of My Favorite Foods: 1. Sushi 2. Thai 3. Indian 4. Raw Oysters Four Places I Would Rather Be Right Now: 1. Someplace exotic I have never been to (not a war zone, please) 2. Trekking in Nepal 3. Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail 4. Visiting Buddhist Temples in Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan, Thailand....etc. Four Most Wonderful Places I've Ever Been: 1. Yosemite Valley, California (You MUST go there before you die- its a religious experience .) 2. Alta, Utah (If you ski powder, you MUST, go there, ditto the above) 3. Iceland 4. Southern West Coast of Costa Rica Four Books I read Over and Over Again (Only Four!!!): 1. Siddhartha, Herman Hesse2. The Life of Pi, Yann Martel 3. The Blind Assassin, Margaret Atwood 4. Anything by Octavia Butler - if I have to choose it would be the Xenogenesis Trilogy.Honerable mention:Memoirs of a Geisha, Arthur Golden, The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula LeGuin, Four Songs I listen to Over and Over Again: 1. Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here 2. Hidden Treasure, Traffic, The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys 3. Babelogue/Rock 'n' Roll Nigger, Patti Smith Group 4. Broken English, Marianne Faithful, Broken EnglishHonerable Mention (About 500 more songs!!!!!) Four Reasons Why I Blog? 1. I need a creative outlet. I find blogging/vblogging is fun and relaxing. 2. to share my experience with those who might find it interesting or helpful. Specifically anyone considering career change or going into nursing. 3. It allows me to let my feelings out and clarify my ideas. 4. I like watching the "body of work" evolve. Each entry on it's own is a piece of the puzzle. When you look at the blog as a whole- it takes on a whole new life. Four people I tag to do this? 1. Anyone who has the desire and time to do it. 2. Nurse Practitioner's Place 3. Third Degree Nurse 4. MissBHavens I understand some people don't like or have time for these things. If you can't or just don't wanna - don't sweat it.

Caregiver role strain related to multiple(3) caregiving responsibilities, high nursing school workload, and limited personal support system as evidenced by: irritability, anger, feelings of inadequacy, feelings of being overwhelmed, fatigue, lethargy, extreme anxiety, alternating bouts of insommnia and hypersomnia, inability to concentrate, forgetfullness, emotional lability, and overeating. Care Plan to follow....

It's easy to fall into procedure seeking mode in clinical. We all want to hone our technical skills. "Oohh, wow, you got to put in a Foley?" I definitely felt a thrill when I did an SQ, IM and intradermal injection, all in the same day. A dressing change? PEG tube, IV? Cool! But then there is the little stuff. Today I had to leave early so I just got to assist another student with a bed bath and medication administration on her patient. Nothing fancy but he was a big guy who could not really move on his own and so it was good - I was glad I could help. I have worked with this student a couple of times and I really admire her. She has worked as a Tech, I think, so she has the basic care skills and is very organized and competent. I learn so much working with her. Anyway, this guy was kind of a mess when we started. All kinds of guck in his mouth and REALLY needing a bed change. But when all was said and done and he was cleaned up, mouth cleaned and suctioned and we somehow managed to get his medications into him, I really felt a sense of satisfaction. Part of it was definitely about seeing the patient well cared for. The other was from working as a team with another caring person towards that goal. I did not realize how cool that would be, but it is. Bonus!