My Flu Shot Experience

Time for a recap of my flu shot experience. Let me set up the stage for you. It was at a health fair in Duquesne’s student union. The flu shots were only available for students and faculty, and a line for the shots formed about 30 minutes before the health fair began. Behind the scenes, there were about 25-30 nursing students, all of us a little nervous, but anxious to get started. Four stations were set up, so only four students could administer shots at a time. Then we would rotate after about 8 shots so everyone could get a chance. Experienced nurses were at every station to make sure we were doing everything correctly and safely. Well, I was a part of the second string. So I got to observe a nursing student in action, then it was my turn. I have to say, I was pretty nervous. And when I get nervous, I cannot fake my way through it because I shake. If I’m talking in front of a group, my voice shakes. If I’m administering shots (as I found out on Wednesday), my hands shake. I was doing everything correctly for the most part, but was pretty shaky. I didn’t think this a huge problem, but before giving maybe my 6th shot, the nurse at my station bent in and told me “Please try to stop shaking so much.” Well, this seems like an easy enough task, if you’re in control of the shaking. I was not. So I was a little bit crest-fallen, feeling as though I was doing badly, and that the nurse was in agreement. After about 8 shots I handed the task over to a fellow student, and was pretty sure I would not be doing anymore shots for the day. But later on, a teacher of mine who was the nurse at a different station, saw me sitting in a nearby seat, and asked if I wanted to give some more shots. I told her about my shaking problem, and she responded by saying, “All the more reason to get in some more practice.” So under her more understanding supervision, I was able to administer some shake-free shots. Although I look back on it as a frustrating day, I do appreciate the experience, and hope that it will set me up for some more confident medication administration in the future!

Real Nurses Give Shots

Tomorrow I get to perfect my IM injection skills. Duquesne has an annual health fair, and apparently the nursing students always get to administer flu shots to faculty and students. I have to admit that I have never actually given an IM injection before. I've given subcutaneous injections, but those needles are so short, and the patients are usually diabetic, so they don't think twice about injections anymore. Tomorrow I will be using a 1 inch needle, and poking people who are probably going to be more afriad than I am. I know in the future I will be doing much more "daring" things as a nurse, but the first time is always a little frightening. The hardest part is not letting the patient see the fear. I'm glad, at least, that I'm going to be on the giving end of the needle. I'm not sure how I would react to a shaky, rookie nurse coming at me with a one inch needle in hand.

Our first October as Pittsburghers

I am sorry that I have not posted in a while. No great excuses. Mostly realizing how hard it is to keep up a blog. The ideas are not flowing, and the ones that come, I am afraid, would probably bore you all to death. But I did want to update everyone on how things have been going lately. My first seven weeks of classes are over! Today I started my new classes, which are Pathophysiology and Mental Health. My clinical rotation will be at Western Psychiatric Hospital on a floor of patients with schizophrenia. I wasn't really worried until our clinical instructor gave us an overview of the rules: don't reveal any personal information to the patients (understandable), cover your last names on your name tags with tape (mmm...okay), and wear gym shoes just in case you have to run (just plain scary). But plenty of nursing students have survived in the past, and I'm sure that I will fare just as well.

Blake put together a computer desk from Ikea for my computer, which has been great. It provides a little more storage space, and doesn't take up quite as much room as the table that was in its place before.

This past weekend Lisa, Drew, and the kids visited. Blake and I really enjoyed our time with them, much of which was spent dealing with car catastrophes (on Friday I was stuck in a parking garage downtown because it just wouldn't start, then Saturday one of the front tires was flat). The rest of the time we played Nertz (a card game that we're addicted to) and watched baseball (some of us more willingly then others). The kids were as cute as ever, and so much fun to play with, as always. Regardless of what we do together, time with the Mullens is always fun and refreshing. So that's October thusfar (oh yes, and my cousin Marie delievered two healthy, adorable twins!!). Hopefully I'll be more faithful to blogging for the rest of the month and beyond!

I'm a Nerd.

I'm realizing just how much of a nerd I am these days. My favorite subjects have been anything to do with science, especially physiology. I can handle the nursing process, care plans, technologies, etc. But when it comes to learning about oxygenation, fluid and electrolyte balance, respiration, and the like, I get really into it. I am actually very excited to start pathophysiology in a couple of weeks. I can't wait to find out exactly why the body acts the way it does when its sick. I love knowing how our bodies work, what causes them to malfunction, and what makes them thrive. God really is a great engineer. We take it for granted that we are breathing regularly, our hearts are beating, and our limbs are moving. It seems so "normal", but it's a complex system we've got. I was never such a science nerd before, hence the reason I had to cram all of my science related prerequisites in right before this program. But I'm glad I've discovered this profession, and its involvement in these subjects.

Anyway, today at the hospital was a busy one. I had a 59 year old male, which initially caused me great anxiety, just because up until this point I've only had females over 80 years old. But everything went fine. He was in for sepsis, which is a systemic infection. He got the infection through a dialysis catheter that was put in 6 years ago, and was supposed to be temporary. Apparently he suffered from acute renal failure those 6 years ago, and had to go through dialysis for 3 months. After those three months were up, he never had his subclavian catheter removed, and is only back now because of this serious infection. The surgeon removed the catheter right there in the patient's room, so I got to stand in and watch. Doc had a tough time getting it out because connective tissue had grown around and attached to the catheter, so he had to spend a good chunk of time scraping the tissue off. It was very interesting to watch.

So much more happened, but I won't bore everyone with more details. But I wanted to at least share some of what I experienced today!

Moving On

The days are passing quickly. I am already one week away from finishing my first three classes in the program. Since finals are coming, I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed. But it is encouraging to look back and see how quickly these first seven weeks have gone by. Friday is my last day on 5F (the unit we invaded for the first rotation). Then it's on to our Psych rotation. I'm sure I will have many interesting stories starting in a couple weeks. I'm already hearing some through my classmates, which are making me a little nervous. Second hand stories are always a little exaggerated, though, so hopefully I won't get as many bites and scratches as I've been warned about!