Send A Man To Nursing School

Where have I been?? Here you are:

I’ve often joked “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger; however not everyone makes it in to that first group…”

For reasons I don’t want to get in to, around the beginning of November I ended up in the ICU with a major case of pneumonia. I’m talking severe. So much so they ended up chemically paralyzing me and putting me on an oscillator because the vent wasn’t cutting it.

Let me just say that only 25% of people who are placed on an oscillator walk away from it. The remaining 75% get the door prize of a body bag.

I spent over 2 weeks in the medical ICU, followed by a week on the med/surg unit learning to do things like walk again, use utensils, separating reality from the ICU psychosis memories. Two weeks of doing absolutely nothing but laying on your back will steal every ounce of muscle tone from you. I spent 2 days learning to walk with a walker and then another 2 days learning to walk without it.

I’m still working on improving my strength, coordination, and stamina as I wait for the Dr.’s appointment to get a note to return to work. I’m hoping I can get back before the end of the month.

So, I made it in to the first group….

I don’t think I’ll ever understand how/why people let their feet get so nasty.

One of my favorite lines from
History Of The World, Part I

Which became too true yesterday.
I had been caring for a really nice young man since first thing Monday morning (came in through the ED on Sunday afternoon). Then they decide around 1600 on Wednesday to put him on Contact Precautions for MRSA.

Ohhhh, how nice.
Came home, scrubbed my skin until it was raw and then soaked all my scrubs from the week, and towels, in OxyClean over night.

Ick.

At work we have a bin in our supply box that is labeled:

“Tampons, Vaginal”

I’ve yet to find where they keep the other tampons, and I’m not exactly sure what orifices they are designed to fit.

Will keep you updating as events unfold.

I have to pull the old text books out. I gotta say I’m just not sure on how to do this procedure.

Our charting software has an entry for Anal Edema.
Just sayin’….

Absolutely brilliant.

The phones in the rooms are somewhat of a nuisance. They are an all in one handset that is on a cord to the wall. They are frequently not where you want them, the cord is tangled in power lines to pumps and polar cares or IV tubing, and are always falling to the floor.

One patient was a genius. His BP cuff had been left wrapped around the handle part of the upper railing. He merely adjusted it so that the top of the cuff had a larger opening than the lower part and set the phone in the middle of the cuff, using it as a holster! Phone is now at the ready, isn’t bouncing all around, and isn’t underneath him causing skin issues.

This weekend is the annual “Tax Free Holiday” where we live. For three days the state lifts the sales tax from a variety of items that people buy for “going back to school.” Such as clothing, notebooks, pencils, shoes, etc.

Some adventures from this weekend:

Me in the underwear section, perusing. Sales associate in the same aisle doing some inventory thing with a weird handheld device.
Me: Do you mind if I ask you a weird question.
Her: No, what is it?
Me: Would you mind looking at my underwear?
Her: [eyebrows raised]
Me: And tell me what size the tag says…???
Both: Laughing, at which point she pulls out my tag and provides me with the much needed information.

Walking down the major aisle of another store with SU.
Me: Look there’s a whole rack of Tutu’s. You could get a Tutu.
SU: Yea, I could.
Me: I believe they are tax free also this weekend.
SU: Yes, they are.

At checkout stand in major department store:
Associate: Do you have a {store name} card?
Me: No
Associate: Would you like one? If you sign up now you can get 20% off.
Me: {putting down email advert} I’m getting 20% off anyway.

First two days of being a nurse are in the books.
It all went very well. Lots and lots of orientation along with various OJT combined with various observations. Me observing my preceptor and other RNs, mixed in with my preceptor observing me for check-offs.
Enough to the point that they now send me in to various rooms to do various tasks - ALL BY MYSELF.
And the best part is the patients actually think I’m a nurse!!! OMG At times it’s surreal

I had one patient across the two days. A total knee replacement. Pretty much a classic case. By the end we were big buds and they were an excellent first patient. One I will always remember. You always remember your first, right? {wink} They were very helpful and I was very attentive, so I think we had a good arrangement. My preceptor thought I did great as well.

By the end I was glad I only had two days with two days to recover. I needed these two days to process, filter, and absorb all that I learned and experienced.

I’m back in tomorrow, first thing, for 3 12’s. The plan is to go up to 2 patients and, of course, become more proficient at all the things I need to do for them including the documentation. Some of which is still on paper. That’s taking some getting used to.

Yes, I’ve graduated.
Yes, I’ve passed the NCLEX-RN and am now a real, live, licensed Registered Nurse.

And now I’ve started the 3rd year of nursing school — or otherwise known as my first year as a nurse!

I officially became employed as an RN this past Monday.
The first day was the usual “Welcome to our wonderful organization” and some benefit info followed by getting my badge, with those beautiful letters on it, and my parking.

Tuesday started 5 days of classes, 3 of nursing related topics and 2 of computer training.
And, yes, I had to take another med/math test - lol.

Tomorrow will consist of my last introductory computer class followed by a half day on the unit getting some unit orientation.

My first real day of being a nurse will be on Thursday!!!!

It has been a week since I sat for the NCLEX-RN. And still the BON site doesn’t reflect anything new.
I guess that the one person who knows how to enter license information is on vacation this week for the upcoming holiday. LOL

However, I did learn yesterday that I did indeed pass the NCLEX and am now an RN! YAY
How did that happen, you ask? Well, it seems my friends aren’t as patient as I am.
I had lunch yesterday with a few of my friends from school, all of who paid the extra fee to Pearson VUE to get their results. They keep nagging me to go ahead and pay for mine, but well, it isn’t time sensitive information and on a philosophical level I feel the $8 is extortion since they would have that data if I hadn’t already paid them $200 and sat for the exam.

During the lunch period is when the results were due back for one of our group didn’t know yet if she had passed or not. She’d been on pins and needles for the prior 48 hours. And was now checking the website through her iPhone every 5 minutes. iPhone in one hand and chugging a beer with the other! FINALLY, just after we ate the site reflected that her “Quick Results” were available. With quite a mix of trepidation and anxiety she pulled out her laptop and credit card and proceeded to navigate through the steps to find out her results. Now, this lady was the number 1 smartest person in our class. No one, except her, had any doubt that she passed. Naturally, when she reached to results screen is announced:

PASS

.

Then she looked at me, “I can’t take it any longer. I have to know if you passed too.”
Pushing her laptop over to me, she says “log in and I’ll pay.”
So, I did! LOL and my results too were:

PASS

!

Just as exciting is that a few weeks ago I was offered a position on the Orthopedics unit at the nearby Super-Mega-Huge University Hospital where SU works!! On top of that I’m in their special new grad program.
And on Tuesday I spent the morning in a short orientation to the special program and some other minor new grad/new employee stuff.
I’m not sure if they have an absolute phenomenal confidence in us and that we are going to be the best new grad nurses, or if they think we should be commuting on the short bus! It’s a 26 week program with all kinds of special classes and teams and groups.
Of course, they did emphasize that we are indeed rather special, since we are a group of about 30-40 that were selected from over 900 applicants!!

I start on July 18th, so only a couple of weeks of respite before I dig in. Was kinda hoping for an August start, but getting the paycheck a month earlier will be nice too.

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Edit June 30, 2011 15:08

BON website now updated to show my license!!