Monday, September 29, 2008

Sweet stuff...

Check out http://www.denniskunkel.com it's very cool electron microscopy stuff.


Neuroblastoma

Saturday, September 13, 2008

How Wilford Brimley got Diabeetus (it's got nothing to do with a so called: " Beetus-bird" )


SLOPPY LIVIN' AND TOO MANY PANCAKES!

Oh, Surgery *and* Patient Care as not just a profession, but a skill set

Remind me never to have surgery. There are just too many cases where: Patient A came in for an elective ______________. They went to OR, but then in recovery he/she went into acute renal/respiratory/heart failure (or had a stroke).

It's not like that's the majority, or even a high proportion of surgeries, but working in a Surgical ICU, that's a lot of what we see.


I'm learning to take advice better, too. When patients' family members/my nursing peers try to tell me how to take care of my patients, I need to realize that I have something to learn from everybody, even people who aren't "nurses". I'm working on reading Nightingale's "Notes on Nursing" and I'm realizing that nursing is a skill set, a knowledge base, not just a profession. Just like a layman may be able to teach a mechaninc or a plumber a trick or tip, they may be able to teach us ways to care for our patients that we haven't thought of. (BTW: Of course, it's imperative that we base our practice on research and not just the advice of strangers.) Many mothers have spent years caring for sick family members and may have valuable experience to share with us. Maybe.

Friday, September 12, 2008

Yeah, It is very much back to school time

So, I'm working full-time and going to school full-time. I tried that last semester and ended up dropping a class.... I think it'll actually work this time!

My classes are pretty low-key for the most part. I think I'll be able to get through them alright.

It's a very community-oriented semester for me. It's interesting to see nursing focused on something other than direct physical needs. The role of the nurse (advocate, etc.) is the same, but instead of focusing on one sick person, the community nurse sets up systems to improve the health of communities.

FYI: Community health nursing is different than public health nursing...

I recently purchased two books by F Nightingale: "Notes on Nursing: What it is and what it is not" and "Florence Nightingale: To her nurses". Very good stuff! It's creepy that I'm starting to enjoy nursing theory....