I'm so excited for this new feature. I hope others (particularly nurses and nursing students, obviously) will find this interesting and helpful. And that people will actually want to participate. That would help too :)
First up is Misty from Busybody!
I'm in my final semester in working toward my ADN - a 2 year degree to
get my RN, at Orangeburg-Calhoun Tech. I started out interested in
nursing because I wanted to do something where I could develop a skill
and help people. Nursing school has been hard on our family, my social life
(involvement in our church) but I have made lifelong friends in nursing
school. Because truly, they are the only ones that can fully understand
and appreciate what you are going through - nursing school ;)
When do you graduate?
My graduation date is May 7th, 2013.
What made you want to be a nurse?
I've had bouts with ulcerative colitis where I've spent lots of time in
the hospital, as did my little brother. I've had some really great
nurses and some not so good nurses. I also have friends and family
members that were nurses who absolutely love what they do, and it just
sort of rubbed off on me.
What areas of nursing are you interested in?
Honestly, I haven't really found my home in nursing yet. All I know for
sure is that I want to work in a hospital where I can develop and hone
all my new nursing skills. It will probably be on a Med-Surg or Orthopedics floor.
What has been your favorite nursing class so far? Least favorite?
I'll start with my least favorite.
Pediatrics. {pediatrics oncology to be more specific}.
The only reason I had such a hard time with it is because I have an {almost} 4 year old daughter, and it was really hard for me not to personalize those sick kids. It made me realize how blessed I am to have such a thriving, healthy child. I would probably cry every day and eventually become burned out if I chose that field.
Pediatrics. {pediatrics oncology to be more specific}.
The only reason I had such a hard time with it is because I have an {almost} 4 year old daughter, and it was really hard for me not to personalize those sick kids. It made me realize how blessed I am to have such a thriving, healthy child. I would probably cry every day and eventually become burned out if I chose that field.
My favorite class... Right now, we're in Motherhood/Maternity and so far, it has been my favorite. I am way interested in all that stuff and could possibly see myself working in Postpartum {or even L&D}. I find I can relate to the patients more because I am a mother, had a c-section, and breastfed for 12 months. It really is neat when you can teach someone something because you have life experience in it.
What is your favorite skill you've learned or performed so far?
The one I'm most comfortable with is dressing changes,
because I've done tons. The one I need to work on the most: starting
IV's and catheters.
What makes you most nervous about becoming a nurse?
The thing that I'm most nervous about is making a medication error. I've
heard that if you have been a nurse for at least 6 months, then you've
made an error. This scares me beyond anything else. Maybe because it can
be the most critical error ever.
What three things are must-haves for surviving nursing school?
1. Black Ball point pens
2. Anything that will keep you and everything else organized
3. Computer paper and ink for your printer {because we have to print out all our own power points and hand outs}
2. Anything that will keep you and everything else organized
3. Computer paper and ink for your printer {because we have to print out all our own power points and hand outs}
Any funny stories about nursing?
I was helping one of my classmates change the dressing on a patient that had
schizophrenia. I was holding the patient's leg while my classmate was wrapping the Kerlix around the patient's leg. WELL, at first, the patient told me to massage
his leg while I was holding it. THEN, he got really excited and said
"Suck my toe, suck in the name of the LORD, suck my toe." Um, no thanks,
and that was it.
Any advice for those thinking about nursing school?
Work on saving your money before you start your classes.
Nursing school is expensive and it's really hard to have a job and go to school at the same time.
Oh, and get all of the core classes you can out of the way so you only have to take nursing classes.
Nursing school is expensive and it's really hard to have a job and go to school at the same time.
Oh, and get all of the core classes you can out of the way so you only have to take nursing classes.
________________________________________________________________________________
Nursing school will definitely give you some lifelong friends. No one really knows what you're going through besides them. And starting IV's takes tons of practice! It took doing 3 or 4 before I actually became comfortable doing it! And oh, medication errors. Our senior professor told us that being scared about medication errors is kind of a good thing because when you start to became lax about it is when you would be more likely to make a mistake.
Huge thanks to Misty for being a part of my first Notes on Nursing feature! If you would like to be featured in the future, send an e-mail to friebr01@luther.edu with the subject Notes on Nursing.
thank you so much for the feature!!
ReplyDeleteThis is an awesome new feature you're doing :)
Starting Iv's defiantly takes some practice! When I started working in the ED, I was fair to alright at putting in IV's, I got a lot better (After lots of prayers) over the next year! Plus, it really seems to bug other nurses when you have to ask them to help you with IV placement! So, while driving to work, I would (and still do) declare, "I am and IV and catheter master!". This and lot's of prayers really helped me get to where I can almost get a line in anybody, even children! Thank God!
ReplyDeleteI liked this post!
=) Brooke