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Friday, November 29, 2013

Less than 500 days to go

That may seem like a huge number to some, but when I first figured out how to put a countdown clock item to my blog, the number was just over 900 days.  And honestly, that doesn't feel like it was that long ago.

There is one more week of school left, and this term is finished. 

That means that after next week, three terms remain.  In more concrete numbers, that means only 36 more weeks of classes.  36 weeks of education stand between me and being allowed to say, "I'm a nurse."  Its scary to think of how much I still have to learn, and how little time is left.

Nursing school gives you the basics to go start your practice.  Reality will be very different, and truly becoming a nurse comes over time with experience.  I imagine the first couple years out of school will be THE biggest learning curve of my working life, and probably the most stressful too. 

I have two more shifts this weekend -- my last two in L&D.  How I'm going to miss that!!!  Next term will be mental health and a rotation on an adult medical floor.  Meh.  I'm open to every experience and hope to get the most out of both rotations, but I know that those areas of nursing are not for me.  Kids and babies and labouring moms are my nursing niche.  :-)

Back to reality.  I have a presentation to draft now and to give next week.  I've got to focus on the 'here and now', so I can actually carry on to the next three terms, and not just think about them!

This has been (well, still is), one of the busiest 12 weeks of my life.  It's almost over, and I'm still smiling (most days, anyways!)  Lol!!!

Friday, November 22, 2013

Another great delivery!!!

Wowie!!!  I had another fantastic shift in the birthing unit last night.  I left the hospital after midnight, and practically floated home.  I learned SO much yesterday about fetal monitoring, reading the heart-rate strips, re-positioning baby inside by mom changing positions, about adjusting epidurals and Pitocin drips, about dealing with labouring moms who aren't the most engaged in the labouring process (puts my first-career diplomacy skills to good use!!!  Looks like that's a 'transferrable skill' I'll be using often as a nurse!). 

And I also learned how much I still need to learn.  I mean I totally realize that nursing school can only teach us so much -- the basics, so to speak.  But real life work experience in the first couple years out of nursing school are going to be a learning curve all of their own. 

Bring it on, I say!  One step at a time.

And thank you to allnurses.com for the following laugh, which exactly sums up how I feel in clinicals.  And apparently that tome is just Volume 1! : 

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Really???

Thong underwear???

I'm working on the post-partum unit these days.  I was shocked to see someone had brought thong underwear to wear.  And this was not a first-time mom -- that I could understand not knowing exactly what's involved in the post-partum period.  I mean, the pads the women need are approx. 40 cm long and about 15 cm wide.  They're huge.  Thongs barely hold those mega-pads in place.

To each their own.  I'm not here to judge anyone.  (But I can shake my head in wonder...lol!)

Off to the birthing unit for a shift today!!!  I l.o.v.e working in labour & delivery.

Kate
:-)

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Thalasso Bain Bébé Jumeaux - Twin Baby Bath

Last year, I posted a video of the Thalasso Bain baby bath. 

It is a type of newborn bath performed by a nurse in France, Mme Sonia Rochel.  It was a beautifully done video, set to soothing music, and it showed the baby enraptured by the experience.  The viewer could also not help but be enraptured by the video.   

Now, another video is making the Internet rounds, produced by the same French nurse.  This time, it is twins who are enjoying their Thalasso Bain.  I loved this video too, so I also have to share it here.

Maybe one day I'll have the privilege to have the chance to learn to perform such baby baths.

Enjoy.





Thursday, November 14, 2013

Fun Nursing Links

OK -- time to lighten up a bit.  I've noticed how serious I'm getting, as the stress of what is third year nursing school drags on.  I knew this would be one of the toughest years of my student life -- and its living up to expectations.  Luckily its also been one of the most interesting and rewarding semesters of my student life, and even more luckily, the end is coming into sight for this semester.  Yay!

So, on a lighter note, I wish to add two links to some sites I check regularly.  They never fail to bring at least a smile to my face, if not actually a "lol". 

I've got two weekend shifts waiting for me on labour & delivery (double yey!!!) and a maternity midterm exam on Monday morning.  So guess what my focus is during every spare moment until Monday morning...

Enjoy!

http://nurseeyeroll.com/  (I'll be sharing the latest post, "So, You're Married to a Nurse" with my husband...it will be required reading for him!)

http://whatshouldwecallnursing.tumblr.com/

http://adventuresinbabeland.tumblr.com/  (BTW -- that title refers to the nurses adventures in post partum nursing -- that type of "babeland"...the real thing, not the other "babe" type...This site has not been updated in eons, but the clips in the archives are good.)

Its always good to have a laugh.  :-)




Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Poor, neglected blog (and my first birth!!!)

Third year nursing school feels a lot like the early days of parenthood.  Bringing a newborn home makes for very, very long days (and nights), yet suddenly another week or month have flown by. At times, it seems to be getting through each moment as it comes.  Basically, that's what this year at school feels like, most of the time.

There are so many deadlines, so many individual items to keep track of.  Somehow they all get done on time, but its a constant scramble.  I can honestly say that I am so looking forward to finishing school, and getting back to a more 'normal' life.  Life that simply involves work and personal life. No extra scholarly papers hanging over my head, no quizzes, no writing and meeting clinical objectives, no lab exams, no exams.  There are 40 more weeks of this life to get through.  The end is starting to be in sight, yet in the meantime, the mad rush continues.

On the (very!) bright side, I assisted in my first delivery.  It was an incredible experience.  The mom already had several children, so having another baby was definitely not a new experience for her.  She didn't use any pain medication, so the stages of labour were 'textbook' to watch -- transition was so evident that even I, attending my first delivery, knew exactly what was happening. 

The baby came out with one push.  It was almost anti-climatic, given how fast it happened.  One moment she's sitting calmly and quietly, then she has a few severely painful contractions where its clear she's pushing, yet there's no evidence of baby being close to delivery, then one more push where its clear the baby is just inside and next thing, the head is out and the rest of the little body. 

It happened all so fast, that the nurse I was with delivered the baby. The resident and the medical students all ran in en-masse, but it was all over. Baby was on momma, they clamped and cut the cord, did a very basic assessment, there was no laceration so no need for any more medical interventions, and they all disappeared seemingly as quickly as they appeared.  Then momma put baby to her breast, and just like that, it was all over. Assessments continued, yes, but the room was calm and serene and peaceful once again.

Incredible.

Saturday, November 2, 2013

L&D Clinical Rotation Starts Today!!!!!!!!!

Today will be my first shift in Labour & Delivery.  At the same hospital where I gave birth to all my children, and the same hospital where I let nursing students examine me as part of their post-partum assessment skills. 

Its the same hospital where I told the clinical instructor, that I so wished I could switch careers and go to nursing school.  She didn't hesitate when encouraging me to do so.  And here I am, today, at that very same nursing school, being the nursing student, and not the new mom. 

I have so long dreamed of being a nurse, and for the past decade or so, its specifically been a L&D nurse I've dreamed of being.

Today, it feels like its come full-circle, and I get to start my training as a L&D nurse.  Pediatrics still has an extremely strong grasp on me, and I know I need to work in that specialization, but I know I'll also love L&D with my whole heart too. 

I'll need to find a way to combine the two areas.  I'll work on that later.

Today, I'm going to Labour & Delivery, and I'm not having contractions!!!  ;-)

I am so grateful to have the opportunity to be living this dream.

Kate