Monday, August 25, 2008

Oh, Google Image Search



apparently this is from some play about nursing called, "Too Nurse". I don't know whether I would like to see it or not! Kind of strange....

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Back to school....

Well, it is that time again....... Back for another wonderful semester of RN-BSN completion. More classes that aren't quite 100% useless, even though they feel like it. I think since I work in an area that is so centered on my clients' medical problems, I lose sight of all that nursing really is. Anything that's not pathophysiology seem pointless to me as an ICU nurse. Sure we deal with psychosocial stuff, but we also have chaplains, case workers, social workers, patient advocates, and loads of other professionals who are better equipped to handle these issues than we are. Betty Neuman said that nurses should be holistic in their care, assessing and intervening not only on a physical level, but also on psychological, spiritual, sociocultural, and various other less tangible levels, but when someone is septic or in respiratory failure or whatever, their sociocultural needs (important as they are) don't seem to concern us as much as their need not to sink deeper into distributive shock. Maybe it's just me! It may really be a nursing problem, but it seems that we barely have the time and staffing to keep some of our patients healthy/alive.

Anyway, here's a rundown of my classes....

COMMUNITY/PUBLIC HEALTH NURSING (5 cr.)

I think that I'll either be working with a school nurse or in a community free clinic. I'm hoping this experience will broaden my view of nursing. As a future NP, I hope this will also show me some possible career tracks. This is my first clinical course since Spring of 2007, so I'm really looking forward to doing my first clinical as an RN.

HISTORY OF ROCK MUSIC (3 cr.)

Oh yeah... let's hear it for area IV general education! It was either this or Victorian Novels or something like that. I honestly wanted to take History of Jazz, but it wasn't available... It's a music class, so it focuses on the musical development of rock. How much sweeter does it get?

TRANSCULTURAL HEALTHCARE (3 cr.)

Lesson One: Don't stereotype people
Lessons Two through Twenty: Various accepted stereotypes about the peoples of the world

DISASTER NURSING (1 cr.)

The title of my autobiography? No, silly, it's the title of the one credit hour weekend course I'm taking in September. I hear it's more of a pain than it ought to be.

That's right suckah, 12 credit hours. Did I mention I'm also working 36 hours per week in a challanging setting that require 4-12 hours on call per month with madatory upstaffing? Or that my wife is also taking 12 credit hours? Or that I have a four month old? Yeah, it's going to be busy. No, I will not get to eat a meal at home during the week. Fortunately we've hired my lovely 20 (soon to be 21) year old sister to watch our child. Unfortunately, I've had to drop my guitar lessons.... That made me sad, but there was really no other way. On a happy note, the federal government is paying me almost $600 to go to school this semester. That number will probably go up after my wife gets her Financial Aid package through. If I can do 12 credit hours this semester and 11 credit hours next semester, then I will get my bachelor's degree in the spring.... THEN ON TO NP SCHOOL! Yes, it's true, I'm pretty excited about that.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Life in the hood?


Yeah, it's the po-lice. They're across the parking lot from my apartment and I know not why. Good times!