My room - at the end of my bed is the wind tunnel - a fan, a humidifier and a HEPA filter. Someday I'll be able to breathe!!

What a week...

I started my first clinical rotation in long term care this week. After touring the facility on Tuesday I called home and cried. The place I work probably hasn't bought new furnishings since the early 80's, smelled funny, was hot and humid and had elderly residents sitting in the halls staring at the wall. It scared the bee-gee-bees out of me. I remember when Grandma started telling me not to get old and now I know why. It's scary. Of course Mom gave me a great pep talk so on Wednesday I went in determined to get it my best shot. I got paired with a PCT, and man, they work hard! I didn't get to do any "nursing" things but I got patients up and clean and dressed and comfortable. At the end of the day I helped care for a women who was aspirating. I have to say I've never felt so gross at the end of the day and I don't think I could handle it long term but it was gratifying to take care of people who needed it so desperately.

Thursday turned into a very exciting day for me. I've developed asthma since moving to Tucson, in addition to my horrible allergies, so I've been seeing an immunologist and getting allergy shots. At my first appointment I had to do this lung volume test - 3 little houses show up on a computer screen and I have to blow through a tube and try to "blow them down". The first time I did it I did well - above average lung capacity (still got a diagnosis of asthma :( ). This week I could only blow down 2 and 1/3 houses - not a good thing. I've lost about a soda can worth of lung capacity in the past 2 weeks. I also have a sinus infection. So I started on antibiotics and steroids to bring down the inflammation in my lungs. One of the steroids was an inhaler with a long-acting albuterol, which would have been good for most people but it made my heart rate uncomfortably high. So I went to clinical and couldn't breathe, couldn't walk without getting super winded, light-headed when I bent over, not to mention the pasty skin. Anyway, I got sent home to rest - and to prevent me from passing out. It all worked out okay, I got a new inhaler without albuterol and was back in clinical today. Never a dull moment with me.

Today was a pretty exciting day. Due to HIPPA rules I have no idea what I can say but today I got to complete my first assessment on a real live person and take vitals! Very exciting day for me. However, that wasn't my most important learning experience of the day. Here it is: get you colon cancer screenings. I won't gross you out with details but, please, get your colon screened.

I was right...

They spent a tremendous amount of time today confusing us about clinicals. I think I know where I'm supposed to be tomorrow but I could be wrong. I currently feel like I've been hit by a truck. And Dansko shoes are not comfortable. I promise I will be more cheerful tomorrow. Right now I have to go spend another $50 for pharmacology program and maybe buy another pair of white shoes.

One Term Down

I took my last exam of the term on Thursday morning. I think it was a bit sick and wrong to give us our biggest exam the day after Independence Day but no one consults me on these things. Needless to say, my holiday was a bit lack luster but I did well on my exam. I would have liked to do better but an A is an A. Was that bragging? Maybe just a little. I'm really pleased with how well this first term went and, starting Monday, I will be heading to a long-term care facility to apply my newly developed skills. Half the class will be going to long-term care (LTC) and the other half will be doing an OB rotation (then we'll switch). I think it's laughable that they subject old people and laboring mothers to nursing students with a whopping 5 weeks of school and very little practice. I can see why both student nurses and the patients report being nervous.

Since I arrived I've been hearing about the monsoons that are apparently so spectacular. Well, one has been "coming in" for 2 days now but I've seen little more than a sprinkle. I'm very excited for the electrical storms and the decrease in the temperature. Last night we lost power. Not a good night as it was movie night. The host lost power so the whole group came out to my house (10 min drive) only to find my power out. So we went back to the original host's house who, luckily, had power restored. It was much funnier yesterday.

Tomorrow we're planning on floating down the river. I have no clue which river except that it's in Chandler area and that I get to eat Cafe Rio afterward. I would probably go just for the Cafe Rio.

Some of you have asked what my apartment, school, Sim Man, etc. are. I will work on posting some pictures in the next couple days so check back. I've also had requests to know what my schedule is like. It changes but here's a look at next week.

MONDAY
8-10am Group Discussion - we meet in small groups and discuss readings. I'm probably the only conservative thinker in my group. Anything you deduct from that is probably true. Especially since I've noticed that one member in particular doesn't wash her hands after using the bathroom.

10-11am Course Orientation - we're starting a new quarter so I assume they'll be telling us where we need to be and what we need to be doing but not with enough detail that anyone will actually have a clue.

12-2pm Pharmacology

2:30-3:30pm On-site OB clinical tour and Orientation - I'm not sure how that's going to work since it will take far longer than 30 minutes to get to my OB site.


TUESDAY
8-11am LTC Clinical Orientation

12-4pm Pediatric Skills Class - Why are we having a pediatric skills class when we won't actually work with peds until Fall.

WEDNESDAY-FRIDAY
6:45-2:45 Clinical - LTC

This seems, to me, to be a fairly light week. I'm especially excited that we only have reading to do for Monday (mind you, it's 6 chapters of pharmacology and something really boring about being a professional nurse) and an assignment due on Friday. I may actually make it to FHE!

Not so brief up-date

The weather guy just said that Tucson "has one of the best weather climates in the world." He, obviously, has never lived anywhere else. It's hot - still.

Today was the end of a very long 5 days. In the past 5 days I have taken 3 exams and written a paper. No, that wasn't finals. I am very tired but today I treated myself to a massage - which, of course, gave me a headache. Note to self, ahhh, I don't have a note to self. I don't know what caused the headache. So here's the brief rundown of the past week (or so).

Grief.
I hope not to ever work in hospice. Noble profession, not for me. We had the hospice nurses come and do a lecture on grief, dying, blah, blah... It was interesting and helpful, a bit touching at times. Now remember, I average 6-7 hours of sleep these days. After about 2 hours of this lecture one of my classmates raised her hand and asked us to stop as she has a friend dying and this is all very hard for her. Seriously. Seriously!!! Me and my amazing sensitivity thought, "Dude, get a grip or go out but don't stop a lecture". So the touchy, feely nurse had everyone close their eyes and take a deep breath. Bad idea. No deep breaths. My shallow wheezing was keeping me from weeping like a crazed lunatic (don't forget - I'm really tired). So deep breaths. Then she tells us to picture our happy place. ARE YOU INSANE!!!!! I'M PATHETICALLY HOMESICK AND YOU WANT ME TO PICTURE MY HAPPY PLACE??? So I was the lame girl that cried at school. Luckily most people didn't notice. And I now avoid my "happy place" while on campus.

Allergy Testing
I got tested for allergies. I'm allergic to lots of stuff. Hence I can't breathe very well, my lab mates love listening to my wheezy lungs and I take lots of medicine. I'm supposed to use my inhaler when I go outside but I feel like that nerdy kid that no one wanted on their kickball team, so then I don't use it very often. And then I can't breathe. Maybe being the nerdy kid isn't so bad. I start allergy shots in the next week or so. Thank heavens for modern medicine and immunology.

My 1st Cockroach
Until I moved to Tucson I had never seen a cockroach. I saw my first one outside, near bushes and it had to be pointed out to me. The next one I saw, last night, was in my bathroom. I'm not usually fussy about bugs but it was big and crunchy and had wings. Yes, I squealed. Luckily my roommate and her friend were home and they were able to kill it with a flip-flop. I'm incredibly grateful because I would have had to move, leaving all my stuff in the bathroom. I'm still a little nervous in there but it's really hard to hold your feet up while you micturate (that's peeing for lay people).

1 week down!

I have successfully completed my very first week of nursing school! Yea for me! (Imagine me cheering) Now that you're done laughing at your mental picture, here's the low down. It is hot in Tucson. Oh, you want to hear something new? Fine.

I'll just hit you with the highlights so as not to bore you with the boring details.

Tuesday was our first lab. I paired up with a darling girl, Chrissy, whom I met at orientation. Chrissy is 5'1-1/2" (I know because I measured her) and probably 103 lbs (we weighed ourselves), a former cheerleader at her university and a former stunt girl for her local pro basketball team. She really is darling. So, back to the lab. Tuesday we learned how to assess the vital signs, including the apical pulse. The apical pulse is located at the mid-clavicular line between the 4 and 5 ribs, i.e. just below and to the left of your left nipple. Of course we couldn't hear it through our layers of shirts and bras so my instructor had us remove them (gowned and behind a curtain). So here I am, having known my lab partner for all of 2 days and off come our shirts. SOOOOOO BAZAAR!!! I was so grateful I didn't pair up with any of the guys (who I consciously avoid now). It's like that nightmare of going to school naked come true. Actually it wasn't much different than going to the doctor's office except this was a classmate.

Wednesday and Thursday were lecture days. Lectures are 5-6 hours a day with 400-600 assigned pages of preparatory reading. So I scan the info the night before, go to class, come home and review, scan the reading for the next day and go to bed. I'm not sure when I'm supposed to commit this to memory.

Today was my favorite day so far. We did shift assessments. During a shift assessment (which occurs at the beginning of each shift so the new nurse can get a baseline) we review each body system starting at the head and going to the toes. This is why I'm here. We check the vitals, listen to the heart and lungs and GI track, check the eyes... everything (except unmentionables). It makes me giddy just thinking about it. You know how some people listen to the ocean or the wind in the trees to relax - I think I could listen to heart or breath sounds. We have these SIM mannequins that can be programed to who knows what - we practice all our procedures from codes to drugs to IVs, everything on them. Today we listened to their "hearts" and "lungs". The cool part is they can simulate various disease processes so today I heard a murmur, a mitral valve prolapse, pneumonia, crackles (which is generally bronchitis and sounds exactly like rice krispies), and several others. So, so cool. I wish you were all here so I could listen to your hearts and lungs. Anyway, I'm getting long-winded. Tonight some girls from my program and I are getting together for dinner to celebrate surviving the first week. Oh, and to make my brothers proud - I wasn't the first student to cry. I knew it would happen soon, someone would have a breakdown, I'm just glad it wasn't me. I'm loving this... well, except for the reading.

First Day

My first day isn't over yet, I still have hours of reading and reviewing to do but since my first official class day is over - I'll fill you in.

There is no parking near the nursing school so instead of wandering for hours I parked at the church building 4 blocks away. I assume my BYU Alumni license plate is a sufficient parking pass. 4 blocks is really no big deal unless there's a hospital between you and the building you're trying to get to. Thankfully I didn't make the mistake of going inside the hospital but I did take the very long way around. I allowed myself lots of extra time (Dad would be so proud) so I made it to my class 15 minutes early. Walking in the morning was quite pleasant (except the lost part) so I decided not to get a parking pass and just walk each day. I changed my mind when I walked back at 3pm in the 104 degree sun. Shortly thereafter I showed up with backpack shaped sweat marks, dehydrated at the parking office.

Class wasn't too wild today. We covered critical thinking, health and wellness, and assessments. I wasn't particularly excited or impressed until I reviewed my assessment notes (in preparation for lab tomorrow) and now I'm SUPER EXCITED! I bought my stethoscope and sphygmomanometer (that's a BP cuff) today. I tried out the stethoscope on myself - heart rate might be a smidgen fast today. I think I'm going to really like my lab instructor. She makes me "laugh thunderously"! She typo'd some page numbers so as far as we knew our first lab was going to cover male genitalia examinations. And I assumed we'd start with the basics. She also loves "poop". She made lots of poop comments and was very pleased with herself. Kind of like a kid that poops in inappropriate places. All that and she said we can't leave our bags on the floor or in the hallway in case we have a terrorist attack. And she said that with a totally straight face - like it happens in Tucson every day! I suppose it could but the presentation was just so funny.

Sadly the most exciting part of my day, so far, was not school but my water adventure after school. I always have way to much stuff when I get out of the car so today I tried to consolidate. Unfortunately my water bottle leaked all over, which wouldn't have been a big deal except it happened on my bed and my cell phone was in the bag. So, sorry, I will not be accepting calls until it dries or I break down and buy a new one. Not that my life didn't suddenly get extremely expensive. Yes, the AC in my car has been repaired but I definitely miss my right arm. In other good news, I think I broke a filling or have the fastest growing cavity ever. When will my luck end???

So that's the summary. Despite all the challenges, mostly financial, that I have had since moving to Tucson I am enjoying it. I've met really friendly people, I am still excited about my program and I'm starting to build some great friendships. Tomorrow I have lab so I'll be sure to post any humiliating experiences!