a quick word about piggy-backs

ha ha, just in case you guys forget, when hanging a piggy back the med needs to go ABOVE the maintenance fluid as opposed to below.  i can't think at 0400 and i but my vanco. below my TPN the night before last.  when i went in an hour later, the vanco. bag was about to burst because all the hyperal had gone into it...woops!  no worries, just re-timed her next vanco...ha ha, just a friendly reminder in case you guys forget too!  gotta love being new!

a christmas blessing!

not to continue on with the depressing but i wanted to let you know about a recent experience i had.  i had to work 5 days in a row (my last 2 eight hour classroom days followed by 3 12 hour nights) to finally get to an 8 day christmas vacation!  for whatever reason i didn't want to go to work on saturday night at all and had to hold in the tears while parking, only to find out that not only did i have the patient in the rainbow room (which for lack of better words is the dying room) but i also had a new preceptor that i didn't know at all.  we got in report that our patient, marie, was actively dying and i was honest with my preceptor from the beginning that i had never been when my patient actually dies before and that i was really quite anxious about it (not to mention having 2 other patients to take care of)  that night was the hardest night of my life, what ensued was a whirlwind of emotions and struggling between the profesionalism of what is my career and having a heart and wanting to break down and hold the family.

this pt. was one i had taken care of before and have struggled through dealing with the gruesomeness of death and dying already (kids dying of cancer is not as peaceful as i thought it would be for 2008, but i'll save that for another e-mail).  while she was in pain during the day, we increased her fent. and versed once in my shift and she seemed peaceful.  throughout the night, her resp. rate went from 30 at the beginning of my shift to 4.  what had made the process difficult up until this point was going in and out of the room; the door was decorated pictures of marie before cancer (just earlier this year, she had a quick battle with cancer) as well as at the beginning of her treatment as she started loosing her hair but looked like a normal kid.  the only marie i knew had a very edematous face from all the steriods, essentially no teeth, was diapered, hooked up to an IV pole with constant fent. and versed dripping, always bundled up and never opened her eyes.  it was so sad to se the child she once was and to know that she was leaving her little sister behind to be an only child.  a nurse from the OICU that knew that family from the beginning of treatment was in the room visiting and came out around 0230 sobbing and we knew she had passed (anyone else hate the word expired?).  going in that room was the most awkward and uncomfortable thing i have ever had to do.  the sound of parents wailing over their child's dead body is one i wish i would have never heard.  we asked them if we could do anything (what a dumb question) before leaving them alone to be with their child and calling a resident to "officially" pronounce the death.  after the death came a lot of tears.  i helped mom give her child one last bath and changer her so that she could lay in bed with her one more time.  after the parents left, we rolled her little body into a body bag and wheeled her down to the morgue where we opened a large refridgerator (where one of our other kid's bodies lied) and slid the body in (a terribly horrific experience i must say).  we helped mom and clean their room (they had basically moved in), loaded up both their cars full of stuff and said goodbye.  they go home to an empty house without the support of child life specialists, social work, case management, nurses, doctors, etc.  as they said, they're losing their family because that is what we had become.

while this is the toughest experience i have ever had to go through (and i must say the timing was sucky) i consider myself blessed to have been there for this family at their lowest point.  while i didn't do anything special and in fact felt awkward and dumb for the majority of the time i hold onto the fact that i "shined like a star in the universe" as i encountered death at it's rawest point and that shining made a different to the family.  going back to work 2 nights after that was rough, but i'm officially done precepting and will return to work the night of jan. 1st on my own, as a real nurse without anyone looking over my shoulder.  i love you guys and miss you all...hope you guys aren't working too hard!  have a great CHRISTMAS!!!  

-haley

Wanted to share my thoughts....

Hello, it's so great to read what everyone has been up to. I still can't believe we are actually finished with school, but I love the feeling of not having to write a reaction paper every time I leave the hospital. :) Anyways, I thought I would write and let you guys know what I have been up to these past 6 months. I have been officially off orientation for a little over a month now, and I still feel like I have no idea what I am doing. I go into work praying that God will let me make it through the night without killing my patient. I am currently working at UCI in the NICU and I love it. I love the fact that I get to take care of the whole family and not just the infant. It's so amazing to watch a mother finally hold her baby for the first time, even though the baby has been alive for a month, or the first time the mother finally gets to feed her baby. It's a great job, sometimes I go to work and all I have to do is feed 3 babies every 3 hours, so pretty much I get to cuddle a baby all night. However, there is also a terrible side to the NICU (like there is on every hospital floor) babies die. Recently, I had a patient die and I think it was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. I had this patient the previous night and I was super busy the entire 12hrs, pushing numerous blood products over and over just to try to bring up the Hgb, and also pushing D10 into her IV to get her blood sugar up from 32. This baby was overwhelming septic and was not responding to any of our interventions, but she somehow made it through our first night together, but when I came back the second night, her mother decided to DLS her and I had to watch the baby take her last breath in her mother's arm. Tears were streaming down every one's face, including mine. I had to do the post-mortem care and it was really hard to see this infant dead and lifeless. Also, last night, another father decided to DLS his baby. The mother died in a car accident and they managed to save the baby's life, however the baby was in really bad shape because the mother was down for a solid hour before they were able to get the baby out. So the baby's apgars were 0,0,0,0,2. The baby was brought to our NICU to be put on a cooling blanket and recently the baby was not responding to any of the interventions and has major brain damage. The outcome of her life would consist of lying in a hospital bed having to be suctioned every few minutes because the baby had no gag reflex, so the father decided to DLS the baby. I watched this father, whom buried his wife on Friday, cuddle this infant as she drowned on her secretions, terrible. Anyways, I am really sorry that is update is such a downer. For the record, there are lots of positives in my unit and I think that's why I stick around. Like we all know, nursing has the good and the bad, but I think helping a dad change his first diaper, or letting a mother finally hold her baby is so rewarding to be apart of. I hope everyone is doing well in all of the different specialities and that we can continue to be there for each other as our new careers really take off. Good luck with the job search Kari, and good luck to all of you who just started. This is a really exciting time for us and we should be proud of how far we've come. Happy Holidays. P.s. Sorry to those who have to work the holidays this year, I have to work Christmas Eve and I am so sad about that, so we are all in this together, right Heidi? ;)

The Job Hunt

So I just applied for some nursing jobs today out here in Hawaii. I know most of you are way ahead of me and already have months under your belt which is awesome. I realized it is tough starting from scratch where you don't have any contacts and nobody knows BIOLA. But, it is a stretching experience which is always a good thing. Anyways, hope everyone is doing well and know that if you ever need a break, you are welcome to visit Hawaii anytime. Just to tempt you even more, I rode my bike to Waimea Bay today which is right down the road. Look it up online and you'll see how great it is. ;O)

A Word about L&D

I recently started working in L&D at Long Beach Memorial....and I gotta say...It's nothing like our rotation during school! Maybe it's just this particular hospital, but the L&D nurses are known as adrenaline junkies, and it's considered to be one of the most stressful and fast-paced units in the whole place...(I didn't really know what I was getting myself into- no wonder they kept asking me about my ICU rotation during the interview) Anyway, it seems more like an ER than anything else, and I think I'm gonna love it once my head stops exploding from new information every day! Just thought I'd share. :)

Glenn Styffe's class in action...

....so how could any of us forget the day Glenn popped his head into Gewe's class and reminded us that at our next class we'd need to role play male sexual dysfunction?
Well can i just say i almost laughed so hard as that day swirled through my head as i was instructing my 80 year old pt on how to use his new penile prosthesis. kinda reminded me of that day and the day with Cheri and the Sex after 90 movie we watched.

nursing definitely brings you into such random parts of life....

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I realize I am writing this after the day has gone by, but I wanted to tell everyone Happy Thanksgiving. I am so thankful to our Lord for His many blessings. Hope you guys had a great day!

First of all may I say CONGRATULATIONS to Haley and Andy! Yay!!! I am so excited for you guys!!!! Good work ;)

Secondly, I LOVE and MISS you all and hope everyone is doing well in their respective jobs! If you're anything like me...it's going okay, but you'd be willing to give it up in a heartbeat if you didn't have to work :0) (Am I right, or am I right?)

And lastly, I am just wondering if anyone else is realizing the importance of using proper ergonomics in this profession we have gotten ourselves into?! It feels pretty ridiculous to be the one posting this, considering that most of my patients are 10-50lbs, but my upper back is killing me! I know it's not due to lifting, but trying to sneak in and do assessments in the middle of the night without waking up the little kiddos is tricky enough without the noise and commotion of moving the bed/crib to the right level---I just want to get in and out without a fight! Anyway, after a few months of bending over and holding that ridiculous axillary thermometer that takes forever and a day to read and listening to infant apical pulses and breathing...my back is killing:( Just wanted to put that out there and see if anyone else was experiencing this? Should've listened to Gewe. :)

how do i put this gently...

i never thought i would be the first one (although someone else might be out there and just not talkin') but SURPRISE!!!....andy and i are pregnant!  i know, totally unplanned and crazy but we're super excited!  we actually just moved to orange about a week ago into this AMAZING townhome so i guess the timing isn't quite as bad as we first thought.  i'm only about two months in and due approximately july 8th.  so yeah, crazy!  i had a sonogram because i was having some complications so i'll go ahead and post it (exciting but also just a black dot, ha ha)  so yeah, and heads up in your e-mails, i want to make sure i have an updated list of everyone's addresses so i can send out christmas cards...love you guys and miss you all, and if you're ever in orange county let me know!

Classic:

So this morning at work a person (I'm not sure if she was a med student or intern) was giving kind of a tour to two other young looking girls (probably med students).  

She asked me: "Did anything happen last night with the pt in 79?"  

Me: "Nope. Nothing at all" 

She didn't wait for me to say anything else before she turned around and told the other girls, "Always ask the nurses, they know EVERYTHING"... and that was the end of our conversation.

Yikes... does anyone feel like they know everything?  uh, sometimes I don't feel like I know ANYTHING!  LOL

Just starting out. . .

I finally passed the NCLEX the second time around & just finished my 2nd day of orientation at PIH today!! Was thinking about you all so I thought I'd let you know what was going on with me. :) I love reading all your stories, even if they're about how difficult nursing can be (thanks for sharing, Haley!)- they're all encouraging. We're finally doing what we spent 5 (or 6!!) years in school studying and preparing for- Praise the Lord!
<3,><

my experience...

hey all...i miss you guys tons!!!  i'm so glad to see at least a few people posting on the blog, i'm starting to miss you guys.  i've been trying to think of ways to explain my work, here's my best:  i'm still preceptoring (which is a godsend...knowing all the types of chemo and various cancers and blood disorders is too much right now) but i'm pretty independent within the preceptoring situation.  sometimes i feel like my day is filled with looking at chemo, giving a ton of meds to protect side effects of that chemo, giving tons of shots, asking the kiddos if they have pain, and dealing with central lines (why did we not deal with those in school???)  so far 2 of my patients have died and one more is actively dying, it's really hard to deal with emotionally but i'm so glad that the Lord has me on this floor for "such a time as this".  

i don't know about you guys but while i love the floor that i'm on, nursing is a lot heavier than i was anticipating.  i am constantly overwhelmed at all of my responsibilities and feel bogged down with trying to keep people alive while giving them poison that could sometimes kill them just as easily as the cancer would.  while nursing is way more than i feel ready for i know without a doubt that i'm in the right place and that's what keeps me going.  so yeah, it's overwhelming but i also like it, in a confusing twisted sort of way.

anyways, yeah, more updates to come, i promise:)  miss you guys tons!

Being a new grad is like...

"...a series of immunizations. Its so painful but you just know its good for you!" The director of our new grad program told us this yesterday at the end of our support group session we have on Mondays. we were all cracking up! only in nursing do you comapre life events to medical procedures...

Can I just say....

that I don't like having four tele pts when I'm NOT even tele certified, and I don't like starting insulin drips and then having the BS go too low, and I really don't like hanging blood at change of shift and then sending the pt down to GI lab while the blood is still running.  I just had to get that off my chest after last night... thanks guys.

Scripps Orientation

This is our new grad class here at Scripps along with a few of our instructors. We're all in their residency program for a year...it's a great group but it's sooo different than being with you all. I miss you tons for sure! The second one is my roomate, Kelly, and I learning how to fight fires. I'd never actually used a fire extinguisher before so it was pretty fun!

So far I've only been on the floor 4 shifts, so I haven't done too much. ...although we took care of a paranoid schizophrenic lady the first day who became very combative right as we were getting ready to leave... that got a little interesting! I had to climb up on the bed and pry her hands off my preceptor. Hope all is well with you all!

As far as a reunion...i'm down with whatever...and am game for helping plan!

Stock Market Crashes but People Keep Getting Sick!

Hey Everyone!

Katie Potter, Anne Turner, and I are drinking coffee and eating coffee cake (thank you Haley for the recipe) at Katie's house in Oregon and thought of you all and wanted to say hi. We're currently enjoying the beautiful northwest weather. Anne completed another surgery yesterday (she's done 20+ surgeries at UCLA) as an OR nurse. She is proud to be a Bruin. Katie enjoys long walks on the beach with hot men who play golf. Her days in Peds are "long, hectic, filled with Rapid Response and CMV, diarrhea galore, and Christian caring." I currently am counting down the days until my nuptials with Craig...I think we're less than 30 days now. Crazy.

We have begun to contemplate ideas for our first class reunion. How about Figi? Just Kidding. Or, we could all meet at the Holiday Inn Select (which has the Biola discount, pool, spa, and In-N-Out), and have Bon-Apetit cater a dinner in our honor in the Cafe Banquet room. We could then rent out Sutherland and renew our vows from Pinning. When is everyone free? Let me know.

Well, hope everyone is doing well. We send our love and encourage everyone to post with new events, purchases, feelings, and emotions. And remember, "Stay classy Class of 2008."

"Eat, drink, sleep, exercise, and be nice to everyone. Thank you." - MY from TRC

Katie, Anne, and Kari

Here's a taste of my camp nursing experience... hope everyone is doing well!

Are you my nurse? (oh yeah im a real nurse now:)))

Hi everyone! Thought i'd also contribute to our blog... I cant believe we are real nurses now!! Its been such a long journey just to be where we are now. Who would have thought that after you graduate you still have to go through so much just to not feel nauseaous at work. I work at Saddleback hospital on Med/Surg Orthopedics. The new grad orientation was so intense and so many hours, i felt like i was back at school. Then i was back to preceptorship like in nursing school. I'm on my own now for about 10 shifts and its nice to be resposible for your own patients and decide on all their care. At first i was seriously nauseous from being nervous but now i'm doing okay and i decided i wont quit :)) Or that i cant quit because i have to pay off my loans. Just like 5 shifts ago i would have said i hate nursing, it was so stressful in the beginning. One of my favorite days was when i discharged a confused patient and didnt call the family so he was just outside of the hospital all by himself, waiting for no one :) oops I'm sure none of you guys would do that, but i'm special i guess. :) These days i'm really enjoying nursing as i get more efficient and get to interact more with my patients instead of looking up every medication that i'm giving or just keeping up with charting. I think our teachers definitely prepared us for giving wholistic care, its nice to consider all the aspects of the patient and attempt to fulfill those needs under the time constraints that we have. I feel like each day is like a puzzle and you try to complete every piece that you are responsible for before the next shift. This blog is a nice idea to keep up with what everyone is doing. Thank God for all that he has done to prepare us for our mission in life as nurses, it feels so much more than a job or career. You definitely have to be called to do this.. Will be praying for all of you guys to practice safely :))

woof...

well i officially started work at CHOC on friday and i just wanted you all to know that it is not the same without you guys!  i mean it's fun meeting new people and all but i definitely think we had an amazing class...plus all the orientation stuff that i'm going through right now is SO BORING!  it's fun though too, yesterday our leader lead us in the game of "i've never"...never thought i would do that in the workplace!  anyways, hope all of you guys are doing well and that jobs are going amazingly, miss you all.

-haley

PHN

Hey Guys,

I received my PHN this last weekend, so maybe they were just a little late in coming. Did anyone else get theirs? I got it along with my RN certificate, but they came in different envelopes. Hope everyone is doing well! Miss you all... I can't believe it has been over two months since graduation and that we don't have to go back...crazy. Have a great day (whenever you read this...) :O)

PHN....

Just so you guys are aware. I was wondering why I haven't heard anything from the BRN r/t my PHN, so I called this afternoon. Apparently, they need our transcript, even though they have already gotten one from us earlier. If you want your public health and haven't heard from them, I'm almost sure that you need to send your transcript in again and then you will receive it. You can address the transcript to BRN attn: Velmia or Thelma, the guys was really hard to understand. Anyways, thought you would like to know. Hope you are enjoying your lives outside of school, as for me I feel like I am in school all over again. I started my didactic training and have a quiz and an exam already. I also have to score a 85% or higher on them, so I feel like I am back at Biola. Anyways, hope all is well.
Amy

Summer plans...

i know summer is half way over now..but what is everyone up to these days?

We're RN's!!!

Can you believe it! I just found out right now I passed!!! YAY! If you know you've passed reply to this so we can stay updated on who has passed...
love you and miss you all!

skull fracture and brain contusion...

hey team!

so if you went into the ER with a hairline skull fracture and brain contusion would you be worried and/or need follow up (side note s/s of increased ICP= bad headache and intense nose bleeds)?  i know nothing about these things i feel like...just wondering if any of you with ER preceptorships and/or jobs had any thoughts on the matter...let me know what you think!

-h

Sneaky NCLEX Results (Reply to Haley)

Haley,

You can find your NCLEX results by going to the BRN page.  Click on "Permanent License Verification" and then go to the "Board's Online License Verification System".  You'll be able to search for your name there.  My results came up three days after I took the NCLEX!

PS:  Congratulations Denise on finishing your first day!  If it gets really busy and you need me to sign an insulin, give me a call!  I'll swing on by.  :)

My First Day!

Yes, it has come and gone already! Can you believe it??! I can't. I was sitting in Orientation, sometimes completely paying attention and at other moments I found myself thinking, "No way, this is my first day of my career? I don't feel old enough, or ready enough" I think I am still in a phase of denial that summer break is over so fast, but I am so nervous, excited, etc about starting. So it was a lot of talking, listening, taking notes, hospital, benefits, etc type info...AND I got my badge, which was probably the highlight of my day!
And just when I thought I was done buying textbooks...yep, I had to go out and buy an Emergency Nursing textbook cause I need to have 10 chapters read in a couple weeks...let the training begin, right? Again, I still can't believe I am here! I have yet to take the NCLEX (which I will take in July) but I am laughing at myself and wondering when I am going to study with all this new material and classes, etc that make up my New Grad program.
Danielle, I know what you mean about being outside the bubble! It has been my prayer not only for me, but all of us, that we would be salt and light where He has called and placed each of us. The world needs the love, grace and joy of Jesus and it's truely exciting to me to think that the God of the universe can work through us to share His Truth with those who really don't know it and are in desparate need of it.
Sorry this post got so long, but I definately wanted to share my first day and my heart with you guys. Miss you!

Cindy Look-a-Like

So last week I got my ACLS cert and the instrutor of the class was Cindy's twin!! Not only did they physically look alike (if you know what I mean) but they had the same personality. It was quite entertaining. However, this one swore up a storm all through the class, saying the f-word, ass, b-word, the whole thing. It was an eye opener to realize Im not the Biola Bubble anymore. People swear and smoke and are mean in the real world!! I kinda miss my bubble...

Danielle

Name Alert!

Nurrrses! (said with Westcottian flare),

Careful! There are two Anne Louise, RNs residing in LA County.

Congratulations Anne!  We are so proud of you!

I Love The Onion...

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/study_most_children_strongly

Just wondering, do Biola nursing faculty and staff have access to this blog? Because if they dont, I have a funny story about a professor look-a-like...

Also, here's just an interesting article I found about what not to say to your nursing preceptor. http://www.realityrn.com/more-articles/power-authority/6-things-your-preceptor-never-wants-to-hear/549/

reply to haley's NCLEX result question.

(sorry to make this an new post, it was too long for the comment box)

I got this as a pdf file with the att. hope it answers your questions... but as you can see we are not on the list... =(


11/6/2007
NCLEX! QUICK RESULTS SERVICE

Candidates in the following jurisdictions may access ‘Unofficial’ results via the
NCLEX! Candidate Web site or through the NCLEX! Quick Results Line.

Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia-PN,
Georgia-RN, Illinois, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana-RN, Maine,
Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska,
Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio,
Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina , South Dakota,
Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virgin Islands (web only), Washington, West
Virginia PN, Wisconsin, Wyoming.

Your “unofficial” results will be available two business days after taking your
examination.

Via the web ($7.95) – Go to www.pearsonvue.com/nclex, sign in with your user
name and password. After logging in, you will see your Current Activity. Under
Recent Appointments, find the row with your current test, go to “Status” and
double click on the “Quick Results” link. If your results are available, a credit card
payment page will display. Fill in the payment date, click on the Continue button,
and a confirmation page will display. Click ONLY ONCE on the Confirm Order
button, and your exam results will appear. In order to receive your results, you
must provide a valid credit card number to which the $7.95 charge can be billed.
(Please note: Your credit card will be charged only if your results are available.)

Via the phone ($9.95) - Call the NCLEX Quick Results line at 1-900-776-2539 (1-900-
77-NCLEX). Please note that this is a 900 number and NOT an 800 number. This
service will be available 24 hours a day. The $9.95 fee will appear on your local
telephone bill under “NCLEX Test”. (Please be aware: When you use the NCLEX
Quick Results line, you will not be charged if your results are not yet available.
However, once your results are available, if you call more than once, you will be
charged for each call.)

Only the Board of Nursing to which you applied can release your official results.
The NCLEX examination results in the Quick Results Service are unofficial, and do
not authorize you to practice as a licensed nurse.

Please wait two business days after your test before you request your results!

Update on my mom

Hey everyone I just wanted to fill you in on my mom if you haven't heard already.  Her PET scan results were great!  She is improving but still has to go to chemo 7 more times.  She's been pretty down emotionally lately, so we could still use your prayers for the rough road ahead.  Thanks for all your support!  miss you guys...

sorry but another NCLEX statement/question...

so i feel like i've heard so many different things on how long it takes and just how to receive your results for the NCLEX...anybody know anything for sure? i hear there is a sneaky way to find out almost immediately (within 24hours) but i don't know what that is...if anyone does, let me/us know! thanks, good luck studying!

figured it out!

hey all! i'm up here at Hume Lake for the summer and just figured out how to post on this thing. hope all is going well with you guys wherever you are and whatever you're doing. if you're up at Hume Lake, make sure to stop by the Infirmary and say hello (we do have Tootsie Pops and Otter Pops if that entices you). talk to you later!!

Only 3 days left!

I know we're getting the picture cd, but just in case you wanted to buy pics from pictage, they are 2 for 1 right now and they will only be on the site for 3 more days. I just got the email today...so i thought i'd let you all know asap!
Miss you!

hey guys! ok i am beginning to super stress about the NCLEX! anyone else?

Email Sign In

Hey!



Just to let everyone know, you DO NOT have to have a google email address to sign in. I used my biola address and it worked just fine. :)



Happy Blogging.

Welcome!

okay team...here is a way for us all to keep in touch post graduation! i already have 3 of your addresses but as you find out your new address, phone numbers, and places of employment let me know so i can keep my list updated! woohoooo for graduating in less than a month!