Mursing Blog

And I haven’t been updating this. Why? No idea. No one reads, so no motivation, but then no new content so no one reads, it’s a bad thing.

And because nothing has been happening.

I’ve finished my course, that’s done, I’ll be heading to get enrolled sometime this month, and then tomorrow night I find out where I study for the next two years. Sort of nervous, I’ve banked everything on getting into QUT, and while I should (I have the marks) I’m still pretty freaked out.

I’ve been reading “Emergency & Trauma Nursing” which was reccomended by Ian over at impactEDnurse and it’s a great book, even though I’ve not started my RN course it’s given me a lot of new information. Booktopia had some dramas getting the book in from their supplier, so I had to keep on top of them, but they sorted that out. Highly recommended book if you’re interested in that sort of thing, and it certainly helps pad out your textbook shelf.

Well… yeah. Basically, that’s it. The semester is winding down, sort of, and with it things are getting more and more boring.

I’d love to have interesting, fun stories, but to be honest, the most interesting thing that has happened since the last update is probably related to the fish tank, so that gives you an idea on how amazingly boring things are.

I’m just going through the motions, doing assignments, reading texts and journal articles, learning.

Oh, on monday I’m going to see if the hospital I’m doing placement at allows observers, I’m going to try and pick up one or two shifts a week observing in the EMC or ICU, no idea if they do that, or if they’ll let me, but hey, can only ask.

Well, just a quick semi-update to keep things going.

I think I figured out why this blog is pretty boring, it’s reflecting my life.

I mean, I go to TAFE, study, sleep, eat. That’s about it. I have one day a week of placement, which is pretty boring in itself, most of my day is spent doing tasks which are really in an AIN’s scope, with one or two “oh neat” opportunities if I’m lucky.

Frankly, this stinks, but there really isn’t anything I can do about it; I find the med/surg ward to be incredibly, incredibly boring. I don’t seem to be learning anything, I’ve done more bed-changes than my first placement at a freakin aged care facility. Last placement was OK because my facilitator made it good, but I’m still trying to figure out our new one. He’s good, but very different.

I think the main problem is just there’s no real acuity to the patients. They’re all stable, just pottering around waiting for discharge.

That’s boring.

I’m boring.

This is boring.

I want more.

I will have more.

Now, seeing as I’m starting at basically the bottom of the rung on the health care system, at least in Australia, and I’m still young (I’ve only really just turned 20), I have a long time ahead of me to continue my education.

Currently, at the end of this year, I’ll be an endorsed enrolled nurse, which can do a lot of stuff with indirect/direct supervision from an RN, which is great. But…

I want more.

As such, I’ll be (hopefully, fingers crossed) doing my Bachelor of Nursing next year, which, thanks to my EEN training, will become a two year course, rather than three years. After that, I aim to gain some obstetric, gyne and peds experience, and do the CRNE (Canadian Registered Nurse Examination), and start practising in Canada.

After that, I’ve got a few more choices on what I may want to do.

a) After I get a few years critical care experience, I plan on applying to a CRNA (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist) school, do my CRNA training, and then become a CRNA in a large, central hospital which has lots of traumas and other interesting challenges.

b) Again, more critical care experience, but instead of CRNA school, completing a flight nursing course, and becoming a flight nurse. I don’t know, something about the enhanced scope, the rapid turnaround, and the sheer acuity seems to be calling towards me.

c) Complete as many post-graduate qualifications as I can, and work in a large trauma center.

Now, I’m sure these will all evolve other the years, and they’re rather lofty (speaking as someone who’s never actually moved out of his home town, a move to a whole different country, let alone hemisphere, is a big thing), but the state of advanced practise nursing in Australia leaves so much to be desired that I feel staying in Australia would leave me… wanting, so to speak. I want more scope.
On the other hand, I could try GAMSAT after I do my RN’s and apply to Med School…

Well, yes, I have. I can’t really say it’s because I’ve been too busy, it’s primarily because of a lack of motivation.

Which is somewhat of a kicker, because one of the reasons for starting this was to keep me motivated about my education. Live and learn, eh?

Hopefully over the next day or so I’ll write up what was in my reflective journal (which was itself sanitized) on here, might be interesting.

So far I’ve had my aged care placement, which was 80 hours, my first acute care placement (which was in a private ward at the local hospital) at 120 hours and I’m doing a further 120 hours this semester. Just a little update for you all.

It’s 2041, and I’m freaking buzzing, I can’t wait for tommorow!

So far the plan is get up at 0430, shower, shave, all that good stuff, should be done by 0445, eat breakfast (I hope I don’t wake anyone up), and then I’ll probably pack some lunch and sit down here waiting to go!

I have to be there at 0545, but to be safe I think I’ll get there at 0530, because, come on, who wants to be late for the first day of placement, really.

So far my bag is pretty empty, I’m not sure what else I’ll need, I have.

3x Pens.

1x Little Notepad.

2x Types of Mints.

Nursing dictionary and drug book.

My clinical assessment book, which I need to get filled out, and my placement agreement, in case I need it, and I think that’s about it.

Oh, and my stethoscope, name badge, phone and wallet.

I’m going to feel so naked tomorrow, I don’t know what else to take!

I should be going to sleep now, see you all later 

Well, I’ve had sort of a rollercoaster of a week, going from good, to horrible, to good, and now hopefully it will even out to “tolerable”.

Last wednesday (the 11th) was our Anatomy and Physiology exam, and I was sort of… migrained out, if you catch my drift. But, anyway, I did that, and thought I did OK, and then on auto-pilot on the way home, when bad things happened…

Click for Picture.

Yeah, I had an accident. Good news is that it’s mostly cosmetic, and everyone was OK.
So the day after that, thursday, after getting driven to TAFE by my awesome mother, I handed my Health Care Plan in, which I think I did pretty decent at, and then went and waited for the bus.

An hour later (it takes 20 minutes to drive home oh god), the bus arrives and I get on to get to the bus exchange at the bigass (well, compared to most shops around here) shopping complex, where I proceed to buy a cheap copy of New Super Mario Brothers. (Awesome, awesome game by the way), and then wait for a bus. For about 45 minutes.

Anyway, so I end up getting home, and attack my car to rip that giant dent out you can see in the picture so it’s slightly less ugly and slightly more “not gonna kill someone”. Finished that at about 2100, went to bed, got up, drove to TAFE. It’s an ugly, ugly car at the moment, but the damage is actually quite minimal (from what I can see anyway).

And now comes today, where we got our A&P exam results back. First off;

I PASSED!

But it was a close one, which I expected, and I’m glad to see that the answers I got wrong I knew before we corrected them, makes me feel better about my knowledge base.

Next piece of assessment is the presentation about early stage dementia and maintaining quality of life and independance, if anyone has any links or reccomended reading, please feel free to drop a comment

Well I’ve been a bit busy lately, hence the sparse updates lately, but I’ve taken a bit of time out to write about… uh. Not a whole lot to write about.

Oh!

These are some awesome surgical videos. None of this blurring shit out crap, you see it all. And damn it’s good. I’ll probably post more as I find more, there are loads on there.

Cesarean Childbirth From Hartford Hospital.
Radical Prostatectomy by Robotic Surgery.
da Vinci Radical Hysterectomy For Cervical Cancer.
Autopsy.
Aortic Valve Replacement.

Now that we’ve got the awesome out of the way, we’ll go to the :bleh: side.

Assignments. God I hate them so much.

I can do them, but I really… don’t like doing them. Sucks.

Now… gah. If you guys from tafe read this, I hate you. So don’t.

Seriously.

I’ll eat you if you do.

And if you bring it up and go “aww thanks” I might even have to kill you.

Everyone in my course kicks all kinds of ass. They’re just awesome. And seriously, seriously make me not feel like some sort of weird guy for doing nursing, and that makes it so, so much easier. And honestly, you all better pass this A&P class. But of course you’re not reading this. Are you?

On the practical side of the course, my partner in crime for most of it (Tash) has just oozed cool with everything we’ve had to do, which so far has included teeth brushing, both dentures and natural teeth (damn it’s weird brushing someone elses teeth), bed making, slide sheets, hoist use, social hand wash, shaving facial hair, feeding (hilarious when you “accidently” paint someone with food), using walk belts and manual handling.

And if my class weren’t awesome, it would have sucked. But they’re all so damned cool. And shouldn’t be reading this. (go away).

OK, that’s enough for the moment, might add more tommorow.

And another bunch of stuff done!

First, Julie started interrogating me about Tash under the excuse that “Scott wanted to know”, we all know you’re just a stickybeak, you crazy woman .

Secondly, A&P once again turned into a free for all, with most questions getting directed at me, need to make Scott start answering them, he knows too, but after seeing what happens when you start talking in class, it’s a constantly.

Uh, what else. Brockie just died, according to the big news sites, I guess that sucks, two high profile dudes dead in a week, I guess that what happens when you swim with deadly animals and race cars.

Also, [15:18:09] -!- Topic for #wow: I wanna get down on my knees and start pleasing Jesus! I wanna feel his salvation all over my face!
Sion is a crazy bugger, and I sorta worry about his sanity.

Back on to things less… uh…

Found out about placements today, Apparently I’m going to “Noosa Nursing” with like five other people, should be good, assuming I pass everything. Would suck hard if I failed and couldn’t progress through.

I wonder what homework we have for monday that I’ve forgotten about, we’re doing… uh… what are we doing monday… vital signs of some description, I imagine.

So, monday we did BGL (none of this blood sugar level stuff!), I need more practise, didn’t have the setting right. Also, you guys all need to use gloves, pleaseee!

Tuesday, uh, sleep, not much.

Wednesday, Immune System and… something else I think. Resp system, maybe. Forget.

Thursday, we had our usual Contemp Age Care lesson, all good, got home a lil early, learnt a bit. This presentation on early-stage Dementia is going to be such a pain though…

And today! We started NRS001, which is Basic Nursing Procedures. I need to practise doing the corners, other than that it was pretty good. Note to self: buy some moisturiser, your hands need it.

This weekend… I dunno. Should really finish this A&P practice exam, then the care plan, maybe the teaching plan. Time will tell…

Edit: Also, I think Julie will be beating me up when I get to class monday; she said that her and her mum beat me out of the street I drop her off, and damned if I let it happen again; let’s just say judicious amounts of throttle and handbrake were used.