StudentC

So I'm crazy enough to have read through this entire thread... Very interesting conversation and for the most part people seem to be keeping an open mind. firstyearstudent - In answer to your original post, I can't begin to tell you what you'll encounter as an atheist, because I'm not one. I am however the only Jew in my nursing class which is predominately composed of very religous Catholics, Christians, Pentecostals (sp?), etc. I live in a very religous area (not my own religion - very small Jewish community). And while there were a couple of Jewish patients on the floors I've had clinicals on, but they were never my assigned patient. Because I do dress differently, the issue of my religion does come up from time to time, whether with my classmates, with the nurses at clinicals, and once with a patient. I have found that as long as you maintain a modicum of respect for whatever the other people believe in and are able to let the very overt comments just roll off your back - it's okay. It's not always easy to not react to someone trying to witness to you, or tell you you're going to hell because you don't believe in x,y,z, or make generalized statements regarding 'everyone believes...', but if you really want to pursue nursing, ignore them and go for it. I don't volunteer the information that I'm Jewish, but I do try to be honest when someone asks and then just grin and bear whatever they say (while I think of all sorts of responses in my head). And that may be something you find yourself doing way more than you would like. I have yet to have a patient ask me to pray with them, and to be honest, I'm not sure how I would deal with it. As it is, I usually just leave the room when the minister or pastor or whatever comes and hope that satisfies their religous needs.

Congratulations! Now comes the hard part...

I laughed when I was reading through this and came across the dart comment. I gave my first IM last week and a couple of sub-q's and one accuchek before that. My instructor recommended I take up darts to improve my injection skills! :) BTW kudos to you for doing an intradermal - we didn't do those at all and the very thought scares me. If you could do that without making your skills partner cry you're prolly doing just fine with the other sticks!

Thanx for the sites. I'm slowly but surely putting this patho togeather!

The first time I responded to this post, I had a wonderful instructor who fully believed in gentle encouragement and I could confidently tell anyone to just ask q's and it'll be ok. Ha! Just started with a new instructor two weeks ago and tomorrow will be the second Monday in a row I'm going to need to talk to her in her office. She upsets me so much during clinicals that I actually went to an empty room at one point and cried for 5 minutes! So thanx to everyone who posts on this thread, because at this point I desperately need to be hearing some of it.

OMG! This thread has me ROTFL. Just had an elderly patient who kept telling me their wee-wee needed to pee-pee. Then I had to try to explain the foley...

I knew I wasn't alone, but.... Suddenly I feel somewhat better about the tolls nursing school has been taking on my health since they don't seem nearly as bad as others mentioned. My biggest problem (other than severe sleep deprivation and all the impaired immune system issues that go with that - hence more colds, etc.) is nausea. I am not an easily nauseous person by nature. In fact, I think the last time I felt nauseous before I started nursing school was when I had my wisdom teeth pulled some years back. Ever since they started us on 8 hour shifts, double the paperwork, and more acute care enviroments this semester, I suffer these bouts of nausea. The first time I felt nauseous for an entire weekend, I figured it had to be the flu, something I ate, or something else. When the symptoms returned the following few weeks around clinicals - I made the connection. I still haven't figured out how to ease the problem, since sleep, good eating, and less stress aren't going to be options until I graduate. If anyone has ideas that don't include stealing from the hospitals antinausea/emetic supply... Nursing school has also taught me that sleeping more than two hours a night isn't really necessary - if you don't mind microsleeping while you drive! It's sad that we're expected to complete all the things necessary for our patients care and promote the idea of healthy habits - sometimes at the expense of our own!

Hi all! I'm trying to do a pathophys on avascular necrosis. Unfortunately, my med-surg book is not being too helpful on the subject. I've been hunting online, but if anyone knows of and can direct me to a reliable website that can serve as a source, I'd be much appreciative. Thanx.

I'm in the middle of my second med-surg rotation, and despite being terrified before I started, I found I really enjoy it. There's something especially gratifying about working on post op pts and pulling tubes and sending them home. A couple of things: 1) I don't know what kind of cases you'll be getting, but I've been mainly in ortho. If you end up with an ortho pt - pay attention to the movement precautions! There are all kinds of things PT will teach the pt about getting up from bed, laying down, standing up, sitting down, etc. If you have the chance, go to PT with your pt and learn how to move them. 2) This holds true for all things: Never attempt a lift or transfer on your own if you have even the smallest doubt about being able to do it. Get help. I'm short and I don't have the leverage or upper body strength necessary, especially for taller or heavier pts. I hesitated once or twice to get the help I needed, and ended up asking someone anyway. 3) Some docs can be really picky about what kind of drsg's their pts should have on ie tape, netting, telfa, etc. Find out what your pts doc wants and make sure you do it their way. I had to cover for a nurse one week who used a foul word in front of the pt when she realized there was tape where there shouldn't have been. I also breathed a sigh of relief at using the correct materials when my instructor and I were finishing up a difficult drsg change and the doc walked in! 4) Watch your I&O's! Don't forget to factor in IV's. If there's a solution going in when you arrive, write down how much is in it, especially if you're going to pause the IV to hang an antibiotic or something. 5) I've found that there are a lot of fun and interesting procedures to do on pts post op. Try to get as much experience as possible. If you know the doc is planning on DC'ing a drain or an IV, make sure to ask the nurses to let you do it. Sometimes they'll pull something like a half hour before you get there and you don't get the experience. Also ask if there are other procedures going on on the floor and if you could be allowed to do them even if they're not your pt. I got quite a bit of experience hanging IV's, DC'ing IV's, and changing drsgs on other pts. 6) ASK QUESTIONS! Don't bug the nurses too much, but ask. Being a nursing student is the greatest excuse for asking questions, and most of the time, I've found the nurses are happy to help in the learning process. Hope you enjoy your clinicals. I can't say I'm the greatest source of information, but if you ever have q's, need to vent, or wanna tell someone about something new and exciting you did that day - feel free to PM me. -C

I can actually really relate to your post, and it reassures me I'm not alone. I have moments all the time when I mess up or don't know something and have to ask which make me feel completely incompetent and like I shouldn't be going into nursing. I was fortunate enough to have an instructor who warned me my questions might drive someone crazy but still answered them or directed me where to find the answers. Questions are good, no matter what an individual instructor will tell you. I would go with being absolutely sure any day, over possibly doing something wrong. (Of course that may be why my instructor has told me I need to develop more confidence in more than one evaluation..) Remember that if we knew all this stuff already - we wouldn't need to go to school to learn it. This time as a nursing student is the best, because it's more expected that we'll ask questions. So make the most of it, ask q's, and if your instructor tells you something was a stupid question or gives you a face - tell her that's a stupid response when it's her job to help educate you. BTW I sent you a PM also.

Update: Thanx for all the advice! Indy - I don't know if I'm going to burn them, maybe just cut em up with my bandage scissors! I tried regular hose the next day and my legs felt soo much better. Suffice it to say, even though I spent $8 on them, those hose are never going on me again! I'm going to attribute much of my pain to those blasted compression hose! kat911 - I also tried sitting down more when I do my paperwork (even though with 7 nursing students on the floor in addition to the normal staff that's exceedingly difficult) instead of standing in one spot next to whatever surface I could find. To everyone who suggested expensive but good shoes - Maybe when I'm not struggling to pay tuition and books I'll be more able to look into that! Gompers - Thanx for the advice about the smelly feet issue. Since I wear scrub skirts I always wear hose (yeah! It gets annoying!) I don't get complaints at the hospital since my shoes are never off, but my sister has a fit when I get home. I'm definately going to go buy some anklets to wear! Also, having people who have been there tell me that it just takes time to get used to it gives me a lot of hope! Thanx y'all!

Yes, yes. I know it's been discussed on other threads but I couldn't find helpful advice. I'm in my second semester of an ASN proram and they moved us up to 8 hour shifts in acute care for our clinicals. I bought a good pair of shoes (New Balance) and even went out and got a pair of those Rockers compression hose. I tried the hose out for the first time today and it felt like they did less for me than even my regular hose! I come home from clinicals and have to take something for the pain and then put my feet up for an hour or so before I feel up to doing anything else. I know working as a nurse on my feet all day is not going to be easy on the lower extremities (or anything else for that matter!) - but I was wondering if anybody had any good advice for me so I can work on this now and not in 2 years when I'm actually on a floor full time. If anybody knows of any REALLY good support hose or tricks for avoiding some of the pain... I've been looking over other threads for advice on better shoes, but a lot of people seem to recommend the New Balance, so I'm kind of stuck there... Thank you in advance for any advice you can give me!

I just have to add my two cents here. I was once assigned a patient in my first semester and the first thing the floor nurses said to me when I showed up for clinicals was 'Your instructor must hate you.' Apparently I had the 'prize' patient on the floor - an elderly person with dementia who had already taken a swing at a few of the nurses. Knowing this, my instructor still sent me in there. Aside from momentary stress when trying to avoid a flying tissue box and a plastic basin, I came out of the experience feeling more competent in my abilities. Depending on how violent the patient is, that might not always be a good idea. However, as a nursing student I found it an invaluable learning experience and don't recommend protecting students from things they're sure to encounter after graduation.