Thoughts From the 3rd-4th Week

1.One week,you're on top of the game-the next,you do something unspeakable (or non-HIPAA compatible) & on top of feeling horrible about it,you then get to tell your instructor,the shadowing Masters Degree student,& the RN charge nurse.(the patient is fine) You then get to fill out your very first Incident Report on why the thing you did was a bad idea & burst into tears,well,just because the situation is not awkward enough.Mistakes happen,I know that(it's the sheer amount of authority figures that sent me over the edge). Live & learn.(I haven't been kicked out of the program yet,so that's a positive.)

2. I got to see a cataract operation(video from a guest lecturing ophthalmologist) as well as ten zillion pictures of the Diabetic Eye. It was both fascinating and made me want to throw up,as it seems that the winning combination of diabetes,nearsightedness,cataract surgeries,strabismus surgery,and optic neuritis spells a
near certain dearth for my left eye.(glaucoma,retinal detachment,macular degeneration,pick your poison)I really would like to keep it 'round as long as possible.(renewed vow to get myself to the optho this summer) I think that the clouding on my L.lens has progressed,I don't see as well at night(it seems to have really gone to town in the past 2 years...is it something about that 10 year post-surgeries mark? I think lasaring is in the cards for the near future which is kind of scary to think about. I hope it doesn't A.hurt or B. have any other visual side effects.I've known the day would come that I'd need lasar,it's just hard to remain calm when its an eye(s) you're talking about.

3.150 years ago last week,the Civil War began. iTunes has an incredible app called The Civil War Today which gives you a daily update through the 4 years of war. (it's an iPad app though) It's in newspaper format,& has video clips,journal accounts,quotes,trivia,photographs, etc. & really makes it come alive...it's a pretty cool app.If you love history and have an iPad,I suggest you check it out!

4.Cancelled my Endo appt,rescheduled for May 3.Hopefully my a1c won't be so off-the-charts high by then.

5. Freestyle strips without the Butterfly are becoming next to impossible to try and find. The bad thing is,both kinds have the same UPC so it's impossible for a pharmacy to know what they're getting.It's largely hit & miss trying to obtain any.(at all)
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1.In the Event of a Fire Alarm,make darn sure you grab your meter & sugar,because you won't get back in that building for a good 45 minutes. This is not a time to go low.
2. Working in a nursing home is like working in the psych ward..one day everything is "normal", the next, the patient is wheeling all over the cafeteria,& attempting to slug you when you try to prevent disaster from occurring. (while the rest of the population looks on) I guess it's not that bad when the patient is not physically capable of hurting anything,but it was just so,so,so bizarre & the Easter Bunny was not exactly helping me in what I was expected to do in said situation.(me & Easter Bunny in room full of patients,& I couldn't leave because I was monitoring somebody else) HELPPP.(just about ready to be committed to a mental institution myself,I was not supposed to be monitoring the whole entire room) Next time, a little help, Easter Bunny?
3. Forget tiredness, I've progressed to dead. But next week,there is no homework/care plans due(Monday,Test 4) and Wed/Thurs we'll be caring for two patients EACH & then,that's the end to clinicals. Following week,we have our big Patient Presentations & the week after that,evaluations & the cumulative Final Exam and the big Nursing Convocation Dept. "party" and then it's all done! (time flies when you're having fun) I need it to be summer.
4. You may cross "morbidly obese patients" and "chemo/radiation patients" off the list of future career choices.Someone needs to do it,it just won't be me. I can't even find a pulse(anywhere) let alone formulate a good plan. I feel like whatever skills I may have acquired up to this point have not gotten me really far (in terms of a morbidly obese individual)
5.One week & 12 hours till the royal wedding! (I'm sure you're all just dying NOT to know)

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