Margaret. . .here is the skills page for first year nursing students at Lane Community College.
http://teach.lanecc.edu/nursingskills/ You can access the nursing procedures and there are some links to videos for some of them. Just make sure you view any videos or journal articles about the procedures the instructors are asking you to demonstrate back to them. Memorize the steps of the procedures. Then, PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE and speak each step as you do each step. That's what husbands/wives, boyfriends/girlfriends, kids, pets and friends are for! Makes relationships closer!
When I was working in little theatre, the different directors all told us to just focus our attention on what we were doing, on another actor, or some object on the stage and try to forget about the audience. It's thinking about the audience that causes the emotional stress. It also helps if you know your lines. But, if you did, you usually knew them so well you could recite them, as well as know exactly where you were supposed to be standing on the stage with each word, in your sleep.
When you're an expert at something you WANT an audience so you can show off! That's why actors are such hams--because their performances are staged and so well-planned!
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Anyway, luckily, I don't have ADD, but I do have a tendency to over-react and get emotional--not good for any nurse. I started meditating many years ago and I think it helped me a lot. I learned transcendental meditation (got it at a student rate back in the late 70s) and it really helps you to not only relax, but to focus. About 10 years ago I felt that I needed more help with focusing and went to a hypnotist for help with this as well. Anyways, what nursing has taught me over the years is to stay calm in the face of calamity. After attending a bunch of code blues I began to realize that getting all worked up was unproductive. As a nursing supervisor I was often in the position of being able to watch the other staff, who were all worked up and emotional, doing things during code blues that were absolutely pointless. I realized that they were doing them out of their frustration and inability to put a lid on their emotions over the entire situation at hand. I am constantly in an internal conversation with myself, particularly when things are getting hectic. The conversation is to help me calm down and focus myself. It generally goes something like this: "Calm down. Think about what you need to be doing, not on how you feel. What needs to be done right at this very moment? Is it really necessary to rush to get it done a second or two faster?" It's been a life long endeavor. Very early, I did little experiments on my own to show myself that almost running down the hallway to answer a call light didn't get me there any faster than if I just walked briskly. The difference was in the amount of emotion and adrenaline I was expending on the way down the hall. That emotion and adrenaline was what was driving me nuts! There are only a handful of things that require us to drop what we are doing, run and take action without really thinking first. Everything else can wait. Now, you just have to constantly tell your mind that!
Re: Starting Nursing School in JAN
