Nursing School

So I have been in nursing school for about 2 months. I'm going to be honest, it's not everything I expected. But I do know that I am so glad for the experience I have had at the hospital as a HUC and CNA. Because of this experience, things we are learning this semester are just a review for me. I start clinicals in a nursing home at the end of the month. For the past month, I went to lab 2 times a week. In the lab I learned:

• How to do a nursing assessment including listening to the heart, lungs, and bowel sounds. Feeling for pulses and looking for abnormalities. And doing many other things.
  
• Placing foley catheters (I actually already knew how to do this from AF hospital)
• Giving enemas (I know how to do this as well because of being a CNA)
• Tracheotomy care
• Wound care and Ostomy care
  
• Giving meds through feeding and NG tubes
• Giving meds orally, through the skin, and muscles.

Giving my first shot was a little scary, but my teacher said I did it perfectly. Luckily, my roommate was my lab partner so we weren't embarrassed to practice on each other.

This is my roommate Karissa. This day is when we learned how to do assessments on each other.

Our teacher wanted us to experience the feeling of having a colostomy bag on us. We had to leave it on the whole 3 hours we were in class. The adhesive gave me an allergic reaction. :(

I'm all ready for surgery. Will I ever be an OR nurse. Most likely never.

My brother Barrett is currently working as an EMT. He brought supplies home to practice his IV skills. I told him if I could do an assessment on him, he could practice putting IV's in me. I am a super hard stick. My veins are tiny. Anyone that ever tries to draw my blood has problems and usually takes 5 to 6 times. Also, when I was in the hospital they had to get a head supervisor to put an IV in me. So I told Barrett good luck.

Me doing an assessment on him. Currently listening to his bowel sounds.

Tourniquet on. I wasn't nervous. I don't mind being stuck.


Needle in.

Apparently I was nervous, my legs were super tense.

Feeling Chase's veins. Tina had to come feel too because they were so big.
Barrett trying again on me in a different place.

Its fun having Barrett in the health care field. We compare stories and are pretty much learning the same things. I can't wait for my brother-in-law Craig to start PA school, so he can join us in talking about crazy things that has happened to patients. :)