I'm getting a handle on the drugs...I know most of the detox ones (wonder why?), the benzos (again, wonder why?)and several of the common psychosis ones, and I can usually see the generic/brand name and know what the other one is...but I don't have the drugs down as cold as I'd like to. I really want to know exactly what they are used for and why. Also, I know nearly nothing about the ADHD/stimulant or other medications.
So I decided to go "back to school" a bit and do some self-study. I will take one drug a day (OK, every few days) and take 10-15 minutes to review it. Basically, I want to be able to know off the top of my head generic/brand name, uses, general dosing range, how to give it, when to/not to give it, side effects and what type of cheese it would go best with. After all, I don't want to be giving the right med with the wrong Cheddar. Maybe I'll really go back to school and make up a flash card for it.
Meanwhile, statistics promises to be interesting. I have to write a paper (!) for it. On what in God's green earth am I going to have to write a paper about for a math class?!?
January 13, 2010
January 8, 2010
Blah
I don't particularly feel like going into work today: the weather's blah and I feel blah. But go in I must.
Once I get my exact school schedule for this semester, I may have to change my work schedule around so I can accomodate it. Right now at work, I'm set through the end of January. The first class starts Monday (online) so hopefully there won't be anything that requires me to show up in person this month; then once I get my class schedule, I'll shift my work schedule to accomodate test/quiz/in-person dates. I started thumbing through a Statistics for Dummies book to get a jump on things. I also received my graphing calculator yesterday, and cried a little because it looks so damn complicated to use. But I'm sure I'll figure it out...I hope.
I also admit that I'm thinking about scaling back my work schedule a day every other week or so. Don't get me wrong: I still enjoy my job very much...but the excitement of "I'm finally a nurse, I want to be working!" is wearing off, and I'm beginning to miss the downtime I guess I took for granted while I was in school the first time around.
But we shall see. I also think that a lot of my blah-ness is due to getting back into my usual schedule after a few weeks of decreased hours and holiday revelry. After a couple of weeks, I'll be back to my usual eager-to-work self.
Lately I've been feeling some med-surg twinges again. I realized that of all of our class and of most of my nursing school friends/contacts, only a few of us didn't do med-surg after graduation. Two went to dialysis, one to LTC, one to home health (she kept the LPN job; the HH job is strictly for her to get her year's RN experience), and two (one being me) are in psych. But everyone keeps posting about their med-surg experiences...and it makes me wonder if I am indeed missing anything by not being there.
I get to do a lot more with the patients in psych than I can in med-surg: they're all walkie-talkies, so I can focus on their mental issues and not whether their chux needs changing. So I know what I'm not missing from med-surg: the blood, guts, poop, grunt work, essentially being a skivvy...which unfortunately is a good part of med-surg. I accept that. But I know there's more to med-surg than that--nurses do a whole damn lot of procedures in med-surg.
Anyhow, if I really want to enter into med-surg, I could get a PRN job somewhere, or wait until I finish my BSN and jump in then. I think these twinges will pass...though something tells me that taking out my NCLEX review book and textbook and just brushing up on med-surg things is a good idea right now.
Hmm.
Once I get my exact school schedule for this semester, I may have to change my work schedule around so I can accomodate it. Right now at work, I'm set through the end of January. The first class starts Monday (online) so hopefully there won't be anything that requires me to show up in person this month; then once I get my class schedule, I'll shift my work schedule to accomodate test/quiz/in-person dates. I started thumbing through a Statistics for Dummies book to get a jump on things. I also received my graphing calculator yesterday, and cried a little because it looks so damn complicated to use. But I'm sure I'll figure it out...I hope.
I also admit that I'm thinking about scaling back my work schedule a day every other week or so. Don't get me wrong: I still enjoy my job very much...but the excitement of "I'm finally a nurse, I want to be working!" is wearing off, and I'm beginning to miss the downtime I guess I took for granted while I was in school the first time around.
But we shall see. I also think that a lot of my blah-ness is due to getting back into my usual schedule after a few weeks of decreased hours and holiday revelry. After a couple of weeks, I'll be back to my usual eager-to-work self.
Lately I've been feeling some med-surg twinges again. I realized that of all of our class and of most of my nursing school friends/contacts, only a few of us didn't do med-surg after graduation. Two went to dialysis, one to LTC, one to home health (she kept the LPN job; the HH job is strictly for her to get her year's RN experience), and two (one being me) are in psych. But everyone keeps posting about their med-surg experiences...and it makes me wonder if I am indeed missing anything by not being there.
I get to do a lot more with the patients in psych than I can in med-surg: they're all walkie-talkies, so I can focus on their mental issues and not whether their chux needs changing. So I know what I'm not missing from med-surg: the blood, guts, poop, grunt work, essentially being a skivvy...which unfortunately is a good part of med-surg. I accept that. But I know there's more to med-surg than that--nurses do a whole damn lot of procedures in med-surg.
Anyhow, if I really want to enter into med-surg, I could get a PRN job somewhere, or wait until I finish my BSN and jump in then. I think these twinges will pass...though something tells me that taking out my NCLEX review book and textbook and just brushing up on med-surg things is a good idea right now.
Hmm.
January 4, 2010
New year, and back to the books
I do like the promise of a new beginning that New Year's offers, but I don't really make New Year's resolutions. Well, I kind of do, but I don't list them out and say "This year, I will..." I tried that once last year: on a journaling website, I had joined a group where we all made a list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. I made my list, and before the month was out promptly forgot all about it as well as my poor journal. Now, I know that I've done some of the things on that list...definitely not all 101 though. But it just confirmed to me that I'm not a New Year's Resolutions List person.
Instead, I go into the new year with general ideas of what I'd like to achieve. I do better that way...no, I'm not 100% there either, but at least I don't put pressure on myself to try to tick off items on some written list. Or even to come up with a list in the first place.
One thing that I've had to be firm on myself with though is my yarn crafts. I have far too much yarn: over 50 miles' worth. Yes, I tallied it. So I had to put down in print that I was not buying any new yarn until I made substantial inroads into knitting or hooking up what I have. At least a few miles or so.
It's funny: I've graduated, and here I am back in school. I went to my local CC to pick up my textbook for a class and the woman asked me if I needed to get a student ID. That reminded me to look for it...and fortunately, I found it in my glove compartment. I haven't changed much...my hair is darker now than it was in the picture, but that was because I stepped up a shade level in the hair dye.
I also saw that it still had my student nurse name tag attached to it, which was promptly removed. I'll keep the name tag as a memento.
I've lined up the next few classes towards the pursuit of the BSN. I have Stats and Patho for this spring. More Patho and Assessment are for the summer, possibly with Public Speaking (if necessary, I'll roll Public Speaking over to spring 2011). Diversity, Information and World History are for the Fall.
I'll worry about 2011 later. If all goes well, by Spring 2012 I've got my second nursing degree.
Then, who knows? No more school for a while after that, though--I'm certain about that. Otherwise...maybe I'll stay in psych. Maybe I'll go to med-surg for a while. Maybe I'll land in another specialty. Maybe I'll do all of the above.
Though I have to admit...I kind of like being a student. It's fun to be able to learn.
Work is taking some readjusting, as it always does after prolonged time off. I had nearly another week off for the holidays, so to get back into the routine is always difficult the first couple of days. Fortunately, they've seen fit to leave me on detox...which I always enjoy despite the workload. Lately, there's been enough medical issues going on to keep things interesting.
Instead, I go into the new year with general ideas of what I'd like to achieve. I do better that way...no, I'm not 100% there either, but at least I don't put pressure on myself to try to tick off items on some written list. Or even to come up with a list in the first place.
One thing that I've had to be firm on myself with though is my yarn crafts. I have far too much yarn: over 50 miles' worth. Yes, I tallied it. So I had to put down in print that I was not buying any new yarn until I made substantial inroads into knitting or hooking up what I have. At least a few miles or so.
It's funny: I've graduated, and here I am back in school. I went to my local CC to pick up my textbook for a class and the woman asked me if I needed to get a student ID. That reminded me to look for it...and fortunately, I found it in my glove compartment. I haven't changed much...my hair is darker now than it was in the picture, but that was because I stepped up a shade level in the hair dye.
I also saw that it still had my student nurse name tag attached to it, which was promptly removed. I'll keep the name tag as a memento.
I've lined up the next few classes towards the pursuit of the BSN. I have Stats and Patho for this spring. More Patho and Assessment are for the summer, possibly with Public Speaking (if necessary, I'll roll Public Speaking over to spring 2011). Diversity, Information and World History are for the Fall.
I'll worry about 2011 later. If all goes well, by Spring 2012 I've got my second nursing degree.
Then, who knows? No more school for a while after that, though--I'm certain about that. Otherwise...maybe I'll stay in psych. Maybe I'll go to med-surg for a while. Maybe I'll land in another specialty. Maybe I'll do all of the above.
Though I have to admit...I kind of like being a student. It's fun to be able to learn.
Work is taking some readjusting, as it always does after prolonged time off. I had nearly another week off for the holidays, so to get back into the routine is always difficult the first couple of days. Fortunately, they've seen fit to leave me on detox...which I always enjoy despite the workload. Lately, there's been enough medical issues going on to keep things interesting.
January 3, 2010
Hello, 2010
Happy New Year to you too.
Work tried to call me in, but I resisted. Granted, double-time would have been a nice perk...but I wanted the time with the family. The extended family is gone now--they left this morning--and it's nice to have the house back to ourselves. Back to the usual routine starting tonight.
Work tried to call me in, but I resisted. Granted, double-time would have been a nice perk...but I wanted the time with the family. The extended family is gone now--they left this morning--and it's nice to have the house back to ourselves. Back to the usual routine starting tonight.
December 28, 2009
Holidays
They say the holidays are slow in psych...yeah, right. The place is packed as though they are giving stuff away for free inside. They also say that PRN time tends to dry up during the holidays...again, yeah right. HR is calling me perpetually to see if I can come in for any extra shift or even part thereof. I had a rollicking evening the other day: we have a full house (and then some!) on detox with a complete range of characters and personalities...including two borderlines, which makes things challenging at times.
No codes though, so it's all good.
Christmas was nice. The child was very much spoiled by the grandparents. I got one thing I really wanted (a Zelda game for my DS), and one complete surprise (a diamond--small but one nonetheless). I finished the shawl for my mom, who loved it. Dad loved his Monty Python DVDs. Lots of good home cooking too. I don't know if I gained any weight from the first set of grandparents...surprisingly, I held steady over the Turkey Day holiday: didn't lose but didn't gain. I think what's been helping me is sticking with my usual breakfast and lunch routine, so even though I may indulge a bit more at dinner, I'm still doing decently overall.
No codes though, so it's all good.
Christmas was nice. The child was very much spoiled by the grandparents. I got one thing I really wanted (a Zelda game for my DS), and one complete surprise (a diamond--small but one nonetheless). I finished the shawl for my mom, who loved it. Dad loved his Monty Python DVDs. Lots of good home cooking too. I don't know if I gained any weight from the first set of grandparents...surprisingly, I held steady over the Turkey Day holiday: didn't lose but didn't gain. I think what's been helping me is sticking with my usual breakfast and lunch routine, so even though I may indulge a bit more at dinner, I'm still doing decently overall.
December 20, 2009
Mini vacation
I had taken a couple of days off for the visiting family, but it expanded into a mini vacation once my preschooler got sick. I faxed over the requisite doctor's note and felt bad...for a few minutes--then I had my arms full with a fussy 5 year old.
It's funny (but not surprising): HR is all sweetness and light when they're asking you to come in for extra work, but tell them you're calling out and it's "give us a doctor's note." Or ask for a day off within the proper guidelines and yet it somehow doesn't materialize on their calendar. Mind you, I'm not expecting HR to be on my side--after all, they've got a job to do and that is to ensure there is staff on the floor.
They'll probably still be cross with me, but I followed every P&P to the T when I called out.
So I have nearly a week off. I'll be entertaining family, tending to the sick child and catching up on some knitting. My Raynauds has been very bad this winter, and I'm perpetually wearing socks just to keep the circulation going to the toe. So I need to make more wool socks, because cotton doesn't cut it. Cotton doesn't instantly warm up my foot, whereas wool acts like heating pads on my feet.
I realized that the first four months of my "first year" is almost done. Wow. 25% of the first year...it seems like I've been working there forever and also like I just started. I don't have any plans to flee once I hit the one year wicket though...though working for this facility has its ups and downs, it fits into my long-term plans perfectly. I'll probably stay through the BSN, and then see what happens. Occasionally I do think about med-surg, but not with any real longing. I'm enjoying psych nursing far too much.
It's funny (but not surprising): HR is all sweetness and light when they're asking you to come in for extra work, but tell them you're calling out and it's "give us a doctor's note." Or ask for a day off within the proper guidelines and yet it somehow doesn't materialize on their calendar. Mind you, I'm not expecting HR to be on my side--after all, they've got a job to do and that is to ensure there is staff on the floor.
They'll probably still be cross with me, but I followed every P&P to the T when I called out.
So I have nearly a week off. I'll be entertaining family, tending to the sick child and catching up on some knitting. My Raynauds has been very bad this winter, and I'm perpetually wearing socks just to keep the circulation going to the toe. So I need to make more wool socks, because cotton doesn't cut it. Cotton doesn't instantly warm up my foot, whereas wool acts like heating pads on my feet.
I realized that the first four months of my "first year" is almost done. Wow. 25% of the first year...it seems like I've been working there forever and also like I just started. I don't have any plans to flee once I hit the one year wicket though...though working for this facility has its ups and downs, it fits into my long-term plans perfectly. I'll probably stay through the BSN, and then see what happens. Occasionally I do think about med-surg, but not with any real longing. I'm enjoying psych nursing far too much.
December 7, 2009
Random stuff
My most recent shift at work was much better. I went into it saying that I wasn't going to let the growing pains hold me back, that I'd go in and do the best damn work that I could. Of course, for a census of 9, I was incredibly busy. The problem is that if it's less than 10, there's only one nurse staffed for the shift, or possibly a RN/LPN combo. But it was just me and the tech on detox...and since he's running all the groups, I'm doing the rest of his duties as well as my own. It's all good though.
I had the last day of my BSN class today, thank God. It wasn't horrible...but it was a lot of work for 6 weeks. As I said, I'm going into the end with an A, so unless I really dropped the ball on my final presentation, I'll likely keep it. I'm ready for a break until Statistics, which is this spring's excitement. I do worry a bit about many of my classmates though. All but one are just starting nursing school, and they're all in that idealistic "rose-colored glasses" stage of nursing school, where it's all perfect and they're all Florence Nightingales in training. The first clinical course is really going to knock them upside the head.
My stethoscope arrived...it's pinkish, not really the raspberry I thought it would be. It's still nice though...and it has Meriwhen, RN lasered onto it, which is the best part. It's the first thing I bought for myself that had "RN" on it.
My son's birthday is today...5 years old. The little scamp isn't so little anymore!
Meanwhile, my birthday is Thursday. I'm trolling the yarn website, deciding what I want to order as a gift for myself. I have a pattern for a coat that I've been eyeing for a couple of years now. It is supposedly super-easy to knit (though being a coat, it will take a LONG time to knit!) and I'm thinking that now I graduated, I may just get around to doing it...
And also knit some more socks. I need wool socks. I have Raynauds in my right foot, though for three years I never knew it was called that--I always called it "attack of the white toe" and attributed it to the fact that I wear sandals every month except January, and that I constantly walk around barefoot on a marble floor. When I was in Med-Surg IV, I learned its proper name, and now that I know what it is, what causes it, and what it can do to my toe if I just let it sit numb all the time...I have to give up the sandals in the winter and wear socks more often. And hand-knit wool socks are the bomb.
I had the last day of my BSN class today, thank God. It wasn't horrible...but it was a lot of work for 6 weeks. As I said, I'm going into the end with an A, so unless I really dropped the ball on my final presentation, I'll likely keep it. I'm ready for a break until Statistics, which is this spring's excitement. I do worry a bit about many of my classmates though. All but one are just starting nursing school, and they're all in that idealistic "rose-colored glasses" stage of nursing school, where it's all perfect and they're all Florence Nightingales in training. The first clinical course is really going to knock them upside the head.
My stethoscope arrived...it's pinkish, not really the raspberry I thought it would be. It's still nice though...and it has Meriwhen, RN lasered onto it, which is the best part. It's the first thing I bought for myself that had "RN" on it.
My son's birthday is today...5 years old. The little scamp isn't so little anymore!
Meanwhile, my birthday is Thursday. I'm trolling the yarn website, deciding what I want to order as a gift for myself. I have a pattern for a coat that I've been eyeing for a couple of years now. It is supposedly super-easy to knit (though being a coat, it will take a LONG time to knit!) and I'm thinking that now I graduated, I may just get around to doing it...
And also knit some more socks. I need wool socks. I have Raynauds in my right foot, though for three years I never knew it was called that--I always called it "attack of the white toe" and attributed it to the fact that I wear sandals every month except January, and that I constantly walk around barefoot on a marble floor. When I was in Med-Surg IV, I learned its proper name, and now that I know what it is, what causes it, and what it can do to my toe if I just let it sit numb all the time...I have to give up the sandals in the winter and wear socks more often. And hand-knit wool socks are the bomb.
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