HeatherB,CST

Don't kneel down and cut a tree stump off by pulling the chainsaw toward you...this behavior can result in bilateral above-knee amputations. Don't pick at the scabs on your bulging AV fistula aneurysm unless you are very close to the ED. Don't hide your cellphone under your pannus thinking you fooled the pre-op nurses who wanted you to give it to your family...the OR staff will find it eventually! Don't eat a Denny's Grand Slam and then lie about being NPO before surgery...vomiting 300cc of eggs and grits and coffee is very upsetting to the anesthesia staff and can earn you a trip to the ICU on a vent. Don't ask the OR staff if anyone has any weed...trust me, we don't. Even if we did, we wouldn't share with a non-compliant diabetic smoker with end-stage renal disease and no feet.

I don't know if this is of any help. but I know that some schools, including GTCC, try very hard to get clinical sites that will accomodate evening students. The reality is, however, that the schools are at the mercy of the clinical sites, to some extent. I am in the Surgical Tech program there, and it is only a daytime, full-time program. I think a big reason for this is that ORs do not run scheduled procedures into the evening hours. All our clinicals are done in main ORs of local hospitals, so we are stuck with a 630-230 clinical schedule whether we like it or not. If there are not enough facilities willing to precept students after 5pm, then some clinical hours have to be done earlier, or they won't get done at all. Makes it hard for a working mom to get it done, but somehow we usually manage someway or another. It's what we do *sigh* Just my .02

In my Surgical Tech lab class, a student brought in a pack of Rain-X wipes from the auto supply store. They have worked well for us so far! I also have found that if I hike the mask up pretty far, then nestle the goggles down further on my nose (I tie them on with mask strings attatched to the earpieces so they don't slip) that works pretty well too in a pinch.

My brother was given a decent amount of versed while a vascular guy and an intern attempted to get a central line going for SIX HOURS...lotsa scar tissue in that "neck" of the woods, apparently. Anyway, at one point, the older doc was coaching the young guy through the prep, saying "apply the betadine all the way from up here (his chin), and down to his nipples." At the word nipples, my brother giggled like crazy, and said "Sorry, I just thought there would be a medical term for nipples!" The older doc just looked at him as deadpan as can be and said, "There is. It's nipples." "Heeheeheeheeeheeeeee he said NIPPLES again..." this went on for hours...and he has no memory of it at all! LOL

That is funny! I have a friend who, during the clinical portion of his Surgical Tech program, woke up to find post-it notes on his wall about the procedures he was going to be precepted in that day...he had written them in his sleep. LOL

While that is most probably true, I respectfully ask, have you ever tried to follow a renal (dialysis)/diabetic diet? My brother did for three years, and let me tell you, it is a logistical nightmare. He managed to stay within guidelines, his dry weight was always good, and his labs were always WNL. However, it was almost impossible to order in a restaurant or eat at a friend's house. He ate with us about half the week, and we had to plan meals the day before to allow time to leach potatoes, review ingredients, etc. He basically had ONE thing he could order at any restaurant, and even that was special-ordered to the hilt. He made fast friends with restaurants that were willing to tweak the menu for him. It was not impossible but it was definitely hard. He has since had a kidney/pancreas transplant and is doing well, but is having trouble getting over the food issues he developed during those three years. By issues I mean losing any joy or happpiness related to eating because it had been such a looming issue for so long. He now cannot relate food with celebrations or fun the way most of us do. It is only a tool to stay alive and healthy to him now.

Pretender- The trick to knowing the terms is knowing their origin. Learning the basics of mecical terminology (there are countless books and web sites) will help loads in remembering all the crazy new words. For example: osteo=bone. whenever you see osteo, it refers to bones or bone tissue. cyte=cell. Whenever you see cyte, it is refering to a cell. osteocyte = bone cell. xiphihumeralis muscle (in cats) xiphi refers to the xiphoid precess of the sternum humeralis is the humerus in the upper arm. Therefore, this muscle must have its origin and insertion at these two places. Learn the roots, and you can then "translate' any word, even if you have never heard of it before. It is just like learning a new language. I took A&P last semester along with 3 other classes. I spent 75% of my total study time on A&P alone. It really requires complete dedication and immersion or you will get lost FAST. Best of luck to you!

There are several other threads about this subject which I suggest you search and read. I am in school and dealing with a spouse (an IT guru-tyoe guy) who is supportive in practical ways (money, schedules, children, housework kinda) but as far as emotional support or caring at all about my accomplishments, ZIP. He really does not care about my sucesses or struggles, and has said so in exactly those words. I finished this semester with a 4.0 and he barely batted an eyelash...it was like, 'yeah, so what, you did that last time too..yawn' I am today awaiting a decision about whether I will be named a student ambassador at my college, and he has not offered me any words of encouragement or good wishes. I am studying to be a Surgical Tech, and I know he thinks surgery is just gross and doesn't understand my fascination with anatomy, pathology, etc. That's fine, to each his own. But I fear he is actually intimidated by how much knowledge I have been amassing and how much more poise and confidence I have gained since school started. I want a spouse who wants to brag to his friends about me and my accomplishments, not resent me for them. I fear that this could be the beginning of the end for my relationship unless things change. When I ask for what I want/need from him he turns it around and claims he does enough by paying for school and not complaining much when I get behind on housework. I do not mean to hijack the thread, but I do want you to know that many of us are dealing with unsupportive spouses and I have never once heard a story where they actuallly changed. I wish you the best of luck, and please know that there is much support to be found online. I truly hope your situation works out and you are able to pursue your dream without regret.

Way to go, Katie! Our test averages are going up now, I think because the folks who were getting the lower grades are now gone. Here's a good story...on our last lab practical test, I got an 86, my lowest grade all semester. Everyone said they had trouble with it, so out of curiosity I asked my prof what the highest grade was (not who, just the number). He looked at me and whispered, "You already know what the highest was." Yikes! Sure enough, the average was in the 50s, and my 86 was the highest. Too bad he doesn't curve practicals!

I also have the Kapson & Elson ones and I have found them very helpful. I have also photocopied some of the pages, whited-out the labels, and used them to quiz myself on the parts. I have found that a combination of fine-tipped markers and colored pencils are best for getting the right colors and enough contrast without losing details. (pencils when you don't want to lose detail, markers for bold colors like arteries.)

Ok, this is going to sound silly, but it really helped me. I got As on both my Lymphatic and Digestive system tests after studying this way. I drew little cartoony pictures of the different cells like Macrophages, T cells, B cells, etc...and wrote their names right on them (T cells were shaped like a letter T, etc..) and drew them eating what they eat or doing what they do...like swallowing a bacteria or making antibodies. The little pics popped into my head during the test! I used colored markers, because colors aid in memory retention. They don't have to be artist quality, just funny or unique enought for you to remember them. Same thing for digestive...for linguinal lipase I drew a tongue shaped thing eating a stick of butter (digesting lipids)! My notes now look like a childrens' book, but I KNOW these things now and hopefully will not forget them once the semester is over. This trick works for many things...in chemistry, I drew "Bufferman", a stick figure superhero carrying buckets of H+ and OH- to aid in his quest to alter pH levels. That was in high school 20 years ago and I still remember him. Good luck!

With three weeks to go, my A&P class is down from 60 students to 12. It is feeling like a season of Survivor! Who will be next to get voted off the Island of Passing Grades? I must say I am quite proud of myself for managing to keep my A average with so few of us left. My prof has stopped calling us a class and now refers to us as a study group LOL...one nice thing is that we each have our own cat now, instead of 1 for every 4 students! Is anyone else experiencing similar attrition rates? Is this normal?

None of those jobs listed are particularly low-stress IMHO. I know a few pastry chefs, and they work as hard as nurses, with much stress and wacky hours. The whole article is just a vehicle for advertising career training programs, and full of c*r*a*p*o*l*a if you ask me.

Hooray!! I got a 100 on my midterm lab practical (haven't recieved the grade for the written exam yet), and next week we start the cat dissection!! I am very excited, just needed to celebrate a bit LOL

Here's my "cautionary tale": How many expectant fathers speed on the way to the hospital when wifey is in labor? Most, I'd guess. I know my husband did, and he probably thought it was great to finally have a "valid reason" to speed. Well, a few years ago, a story was in our paper about a couple on their way to deliver their baby and were pulled over for speeding. They were let go w/o ticket by the officer, but minutes later the driver ran a red light, resulting in an accident that did not have a good outcome for the expectant mother (thankfully the baby was okay). I'm sure that widowed father will regret his carelessness for the rest of his life. I have to agree with the logic in a previous post that speeding really doesn't save enough time to be worth the risk of tickets or accidents. I will say, however, that I have not (yet) been in the position of hurrying in to the hospital help save a life, and cannot imagine the pressure you all must feel. It is not my place to pass judgement on someone in whose shoes I have not stood.

I have heard tale of good results with On-Q after abdominoplasty, not exactly-c-sections but kinda similar?.?. Also, my mom had it with her second total knee and was THRILLED with the difference in post-op pain compared to the first one.

My kids suggested these for when I pass my Surgical Technologist Certification exam... OMG CST or SCPL PLZ I don't know if I will, but they are cute.

I know a female MD married to a male RN! They both got loads of flack from their colleagues, but they've made it work for years now.

I didn't think I had preggo brain until one morning I couldn't find my keys...normal enough, except... They were in the ignition, with the car door open wide into the street. All night long. I am still amazed that it was there in the morning. :smackingf

I have such a smile on my face reading your post...15 years ago TODAY, 12/23, I was giving birth to my son! I also had a super-fast delivery and a great memory of the experience...since we're doing this, here's a shout-out ot the L&D nurses at St. Joseph's in Burbank, CA! Happy Birthday to your daughter from another Christmas mom & baby!

Thank you, edwattsjt, for bringing some level-headedness to this discouraging thread.

HA! I was thinking the same thing! Glad someone else said it. (Hmmm...What Would Cuddy Do?) I wonder if maybe he is in pain and finds it difficult to conjure up the pleasantries. Think about the days you might work with a migraine or cramps and even though you don't try to be mean, it's just harder to be nice. The most graceful thing someone can do in that case is be tolerant and nice for the sake of being nice. If he were actually being abusive verbally, that's another story. Good luck with him!

I agree completely that they are apples and oranges. I didn't mean to sound as if I were trying to compare the two to make a point about how challenging ST school is. There is a lot of confusion between the two in the public eye, and I can't tell you how many times I have been asked why I didn't choose nursing school. It's kind of like asking a nurse why she didn't become a doctor, with the implication that she/he somehow took the easy route or wasn't ambitious enough. It's maddening. For an ST to misrepresent herself as a nurse only adds to the fuzzy area in peoples' perceptions of what a nurse is and what a surgical tech is. That was my point, I'm sorry if I got on my soapbox a little.

Well, it's been a week, and his blisters have all turned to scabs and the affected area is shrinking. It looks like it's clearing up nicely, and didn't have too much pain except for the first three days or so. Whew! I remember my grandfather having it in his eyes, he was miserable for weeks. Thank you all for the advice and info! Now I know what to look for if it recurs. I'm just glad I got him to the Dr., and on the Valtrex early on.