Hi Readers,
Sorry it has been a few weeks I have been immersed in classes, school work, working and a little bit of fun. We just returned from spring break and I was lucky enough to spend some time with my boyfriend in Florida. He is a merchant marine and had to take an electronic mapping class in Fort Lauderdale and I got to tag along! I spent most of the week by the pool with my iPad studying away and reapplying my SPF 45. The vitamin D was definitely motivating to get through 3 papers and some serious exam prep. My boyfriend works for 75 days on the ship and then gets to come home for 75 days. With some serious waterworks I had to say goodbye to him as he was getting on the ship Monday until the beginning of June. I am hoping my busy schedule will help the time fly by!
My semester is going well, I am getting good grades and more comfortable in clinical every week. My Acute Care Clinical this semester is at the Lahey Clinic and the floor I'm working on has a variety of patients. There are some oncology patients, medical/surgery, young, old, patients with tracheostomies, wounds and all kinds of other things. It is a 12 hour clinical from 7am to 7pm, which is a long day, but it is a good indication of how working in a hospital would be although we only have one patient each. I am learning so much about patient care, medications and documentation. With the help of our instructor we are doing everything for our patient's; washing them up, giving meds, getting them out of bed, feeding and lots of documenting! It's been great learning how to write nursing notes, document our assessments and advocating for your patient's needs to other members of the medical staff. The day usually goes by pretty quick, but by the end I am so excited for a hot shower and my cozy bed.
My psych clinical has been really interesting. I am at Bournewood hospital in Brookline and there is a variety of psychiatric units there including general, adolescent and a detox unit. I was nervous the first few weeks, I'm sure the patients could sense my anxiety, but I am feeling more comfortable the more time I spend there. The last few weeks I have been on the adolescent unit. Sometimes it is sad working with kids, but most of them are sweet kids who are just having a hard time. I spend my time hanging out with them in the day room, going to group sessions, drawing, making bracelets and chatting. I talk to one adolescent a little more in depth every week. At first I thought I wouldn't know what to say and they wouldn't like me or would be annoyed, but now it is just a conversation and is even sometimes therapeutic for them. The thing about kids is they tell it how it is, they do not hold back, sometimes my immature side has a hard time not laughing at some of the things they say, but they really give you a good glimpse into their life and their feelings.
Other than that I am working one day a week at Anna Jaques Hospital in Newburyport and trying to give my puppy, River, some attention. I have been peeling myself out of bed around 6am to take River for a walk/jog before class or clinical, which is a struggle sometimes. Usually I feel pretty good afterwards and I'm making some progress to getting in shape for summer! Im lucky if I'm just too tired or have too much studying to do River's Mimi (my mom) loves to take him for walks too. That's it for now, thinking spring and hoping for some warm weather soon, but until then lots of cuddling with this little guy!
