17 pages later

I just finished writing the longest paper of my whole time in college, it's 17 pages and all about one patient that I took care of this semester. Pretty crazy, huh? But it's a pretty good paper if I do say so myself, I spent a lot of time on it and I think that my patient, if she knew I was doing this, should feel pretty special right now.

I had my interview for Ecuador yesterday. It was pretty hilarious. I haven't spoken Spanish in so long, add that to being nervous, and you get the worst Spanish ever. When they asked me what I ate yesterday (testing my vocab, which is totally gone!) all I could think of was leche y cereal, un sandwich, y helado (milk and cereal, a sandwitch, and ice cream). I was so annoyed with myself too because I came out of it and I rehearsed in my mind everything that I said in English that I couldn't think of in Spanish at the time, and of course I remembered how to say everything after the fact. Oh well, come what may. They said I'd find out before Thanksgiving...cross your fingers!

Hold that thought....

I know I've been excited for Christmas and had the blog all decked out, but Christmas is now on a week and half hiatus. Thanksgiving is next week, and I am looking forward to it for sure!!!! Christmas will be back after Thanksgiving is over.

Translation to my previous post of "test your nursing knowledge"
The LOL in the ER had the following s/s: SOB, \/ CO, EJ of 15%, O2 of 85% on RA, and chest pain. The MD ordered a EKG, MONA tx, a CXR and recommended the pt for a CABG and a LVAD in the OR.

The little old lady in the emergency room had the following signs and symptoms: shortness of breath, decreased cardiac output, ejection fraction of 15%, Oxygen saturation of 85% on room air, and chest pain. The doctor ordered an electrocardiogram, morphine, oxygen, nitroglycerin, aspirin treatment, a chest x-ray and recommended the patient for a coronary artery bypass graft and a left ventricular assistive device in the operating room.

I am grateful for abbreviations, otherwise our charting would be 300 miles long.

CABGs and LVADs

In nursing we use all sorts of abbreviations. It's a whole 'nother language. Just for fun, let's see if anyone can translate this hypothetical situation, test your nursing knowledge:

The LOL in the ER had the following s/s: SOB, \/ CO, EJ of 15%, O2 of 85% on RA, and chest pain. The MD ordered a EKG, MONA tx, a CXR and recommended the pt for a CABG and a LVAD in the OR.

I bring this up because this week I watched a CABGx5: coronary artery bypass graft x5, in English: a quintuple bypass surgery! I requested to watch an open heart surgery on my OR day because I just really wanted to! I have taken care of lots of post-op patients that have had bypass surgery and now I can REALLY understand why they are in so much pain after. I won't share all the details, because you don't want to know but it was so amazing to watch. I saw a LIVE BEATING HUMAN HEART!!!! I felt this rush of adrenaline hit me as soon as he cut the pericardium (the sac around the heart). I have really loved working the heart this semester, seeing it in surgery, working with the patients that are post-op from heart surgeries, and I even loved watching the angiogram (they squirt dye into the heart to see the path and size and shape if the coronary arteries) I saw earlier in the semester. I know I still have two more semesters of new materials (Pediatrics/Labor and Delivery and ICU/ER) but specializing in cardiology is a definite possibility for me. :)

This is a diagram of a CABG x3

In clinical this week we also had a nurse specialist come in and talk to us about about LVADs, Left ventricular assistive devices. These are for patients that are in left heart failure and are basically bad enough to be on the transplant list. It is a titanium pump that is implanted just below the heart. One end of the tube is inserted to the left ventricle (the last place in the heart that pumps the blood to the body) and so the blood fills the machine instead of the left ventricle and then it is pumped through the machine out into the exiting tube which is sewn into the aorta, the main vessel exiting the heart into the body. Patients receive these devices because the left side of their heart can't pump the blood by itself.

AMAZING!!!!!

Friday versus Monday

Again, turn the music off on the sidebar so you can hear the video.



Look familiar?

It's been a while

I'm sorry I haven't updated everyone on my life in a long time. School has been absolutely insane. I feel like I don't have enough time to breath half the time. Things are busy, but all is well. I have been learning SO much and loving school and have been leaving time to have fun, don't worry.

NURSING SCHOOL UPDATE: Next spring term (April-June 09) my whole nursing class and the semester ahead of us (128 total) are going to have an experience called "Global Nursing." There are three study abroad groups going to Australia, Ecuador, and Taiwan. There are also many groups that stay closer to home and have the experience of working with populations different than the regulars we see at the hospitals: AIDS patients, the Navajo reservations, the public school systems, and veterans. I am keeping my fingers crossed to go to Ecuador. There are 16 spots and 8 of them have to be fluent Spanish speakers (which I'm not), I have my interview next week. If I don't get into the Ecuador group I won't be completely heartbroken. I am really interested in the veterans clinical. We would work at the VA in Salt Lake a few times a week, and then during the term we would take a week long field trip to Washington DC to work at the flagship VA hospital there and see some other things. That is my second choice. My third choice is Navajo Nation down in the four corners area because that one only lasts 3 weeks (everything else is 6 weeks) and I would have a longer summer vacation. :)

Clinicals, my experiences in the hospital once per week, are going really well. I was having a really difficult time this semester as I was kind of bored. I didn't feel like I was doing that much and there was so much downtime during the day. Recently I have had a few rotations on the cardiovascualr floors and I have fallen in love! I have had great nurses that are such great examples to me of what I want to be like when I "grow up." The patients that I have had I have not only learned a lot of nursing skills on (I'll spare you the graphic details) but also have been able to connect with and really take care of more than just getting pain pills for them. I can't believe that I only have three clinical days left! The semester is winding down fast, I go home in 38 days...not like I'm counting though.

This week, I have the opportunity to go to the OR again. I enjoyed it so much the last time that I asked my instructor if there was anyway that we could get an extra day. He arranged it for us, we have to do it on our own time, but I am excited! My goal for the day: see an open heart surgery!!!!

HAVING FUN: Changing gears, I had an awesome weekend this past weekend. I went to my first concert ever! Matt Nathanson is an artist that is still up and coming. He has two songs on the radio right now that you maybe will recognize: Car Crash and Come on Get Higher. It was such an AWESOME time!!! I went with some friends, and we stayed after for a while took pictures with the band and got some autographs.

The group: Cara, Alicia, Chris, MATT, and me =)

During the concert. I grabbed my camera on the way out the door and hadn't charged it, so the battery was really low. I took this picture on my phone so that I could save the camera, so they are a little poorer quality. We were in the front row because we got there so early, it was SO awesome!
At the end of the concert, we reached up on the stage and grabbed the setlist of what they were planning on playing during the concert. After, the band all signed it for me =)

Numa Numa Song, Just for Laughs

You'll have to turn off the Christmas music on the sidebar for this one. Just press the pause button. So this first video has been circling the web for a couple years and it pretty much makes my life. This guy is just so funny, you have to watch. Feel free to dance along :)


I just recently discovered this video which made me laugh even harder!

Top 10 reasons why I'm excited for Christmas!!!!

First of all I am usually one of the those people that don't start going Christmas-crazy until after Thanksgiving. But this year is different. I just can't wait until Christmas this year and here's why:

10) I am that much closer to graduation.
9) I haven't been to Connecticut since last Christmas (with the exception of 36 hours in May).
8) I want to see the house! New landscape outside and the decorations! My house is the best at Christmas!
7) Mom's cooking.
6) A possible trip to New York.
5) FREE TIME!!! To sleep, watch Christmas movies, go shopping, cook, visit, play in the snow.
4) Sleeping next to the Christmas tree with my Clayton and Janelle. That will never get old, no matter how much we grow up.
3) See Janelle, I haven't seen her since last summer (at least 18 months).
2) Meet my niece, Julie.
1) BE WITH FAMILY!!!!!