March 28, 2013

Notes on Nursing: Meet Jenny Beth!



Meet Jenny Beth from Eight Oh Four!

Eight Oh Four
 Blog
 
 I've been a scrub tech for 5yrs. I love surgery. Especially Neuro surgery. The doctors I work with are great and the OR is such a laid back and fun environment, but we also know when to get serious.

  When do you graduate?
May 2014 Forever away!

What made you want to be a nurse?
 Since I've been in the OR for 5 years, I've started to want to do more. I want to interact with patients more. I want to do more than fix them and send them on their way. I have a huge impact on my patient's lives right now, but I want to be an even bigger influence and see them through the whole process.
I've always been the type that wants to take care of people. Sick or not. Nursing just makes sense for me. I can't see myself doing anything other than this.

What areas of nursing are you interested in?
 Since I already work in surgery, I would love to continue to do that. My goal is to be a surgeon's personal scrub. That way I get to do what I love (surgery) and follow up on the patients after surgery! If I were to stay in the OR and work for the hospital, I would rarely get the chance to scrub in on cases. If the personal nurse thing doesn't work out, my next options would be PACU or SICU.

What has been your favorite nursing class so far? Least favorite?
 I've only had geriatrics, middle adult nursing, and mental health so far. I will be in OB and Peds next semester and the critical care my final semester. I really enjoyed the mental health class. Clinicals were really fun, too. It was just a really interesting class (and I didn't have to do a lot of paperwork!). I'm a little intimidated about Peds. As an adult, I've never really had much to do with kids.

What is your favorite skill you've learned or performed so far?
 Favorite so far? Hmmm... I'm pretty good at putting in a Foley quickly. But I've had a few years experience with those from working in the OR. I'm working on my IV starting skills right now.

What makes you most nervous about becoming a nurse?
Missing something important. What if I get so caught up in doing something else that I missed something going on with my patient? I don't want to be Nancy Bad Nurse.

What three things are must-haves for surviving nursing school?
 1. A good pair of shoes. (I'm a Dansko girl)
2. Support hose. Not the full on panty hose, but a good knee high pair. Go ahead and get you a few pairs. It really does make a difference in the way you feel at the end of the day.
3. Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. I have a full pot on at all times. I'm pretty sure I will need to buy a new one before I'm out of school.
4. I'm going to add this one in because it is just as important as the others. You need a buddy. Someone that will have your back and is with you through each class and the whole program. You will need someone you can talk to about your awful clinical day, because your husband just won't understand what it is like to clean up poop and to still find it on you when you get home.

Any funny stories about nursing?
 My SIL, who just graduated from nursing school, had something funny happen to her. She was on her Psych rotation and was playing ping-pong or something with one of the patients. They were carrying on a conversation and my SIL says, "Girl, you are so crazy!" She was so caught up in the moment that she forgot she was talking to a mental patient! She was mortified.

Any advice for those thinking about nursing school?
 It's sooo expensive. There is always something you will need to buy.
Be organized and don't get behind.
Pace yourself. You do not want to get overwhelmed.
Get the NCLEX 4000 CD. It has NCLEX style questions on it that will prepare you for each test and the NCLEX.
Get advice from previous students. They can tell you who to avoid and who is the best to learn from. You may even get to buy their books.
If you can't see yourself in any other profession, then you go for it!

"To accomplish great things, you must not only act, but also dream, not only plan, but also believe."-Anatole France

Stop by my blog every once in a while and leave me some encouragement! A nursing student is always in need of that!

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 I could use some help in the Foley department - never put one in before! And ditto to what a nursing student needs. Go leave Jenny Beth a sweet comment on her blog - support and encouragement are really the best things to give a nursing student :)

 If you want to be featured in Notes on Nursing, leave a comment below or e-mail me at friebr01@luther.edu!

Another thing: today my blog friend Dara from Not in Jersey has put together her 300 follower giveaway!! Some great prizes up for grabs:

A satchel, a cookbook, ad space on 8 blogs (including mine!), $25 to Etsy, $10 to Starbucks, $10 to Amazon, a blog header & buttons, a necklace, a headband & hair clips, & $10 to a store of your choice!

Go enter & show Dara some love!

1 comment:

  1. I have been a nurse for 6 years and I still suck at putting in foleys. We do them pretty often in the ER, however our nursing assistants usually put them in. IV's however, I am awesome at.

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