Group Work

I hate group projects.


And I think hate is the correct word, even though it is really strong.


I cannot think of one group project where when it was done I thought, "Wow, I learned so much from this project.  I think the project turned out really great.  I hope I get to to work with these people again."  And I've done my share of group projects.


This semester I had 3 group projects.  3.  Three.


One in Theory and two in Ethics.


I think the worst part about group projects is getting together as a group.


Rarely do professors let us pick our own groups, so you get placed with people who have a totally different schedule than yourself, and have a totally different way of doing things.  If I picked my own group, then I would obviously pick my friends, and I would know how they operated, and I know we would work well together, and I would know that we would have the same schedule.


Anyway, the first group project that was due this semester was an Ethics paper.  How does a group write a paper?  Well, this is how.  There were four sections so we divided it up evenly.  (Other groups had five people so I don't know what they did.)  Easy.  Except for the APA and the ethical part.


Second project, Ethics presentation, with a different set of five people (why couldn't we just have the same groups for both projects that happened in the same class, at least then we could get to know each other a little, and be able to work on both projects at one meeting).  Funny pictures on our Power Points and the fact that we brought candy to hand out saved us.


Theory research project, 15 pages later, I'm not sure I understand nursing research.  This class almost makes me not want to get my master's degree because I don't want to take another theory/research class.  I enjoyed the topic though, Client Satisfaction of Midwifery care.  It was easy when 100% of my subjects were satisfied.


Now that the stress of group projects for this semester is over, I feel procrastination setting in.  Gotta.  Keep.  Studying.


"Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." Isaiah 1:17-18

Communication

I have my prescription mailed to me.  And every month I have to call them so they will send it out.  I chose this because sometimes I want it to come to my apartment and sometimes I want it to come to my house, but I mostly get it sent to my apartment.


I called them the other day to order my drugs and it went something like this:


"I need to order my prescription."


"Okay, your name."


"Hart. H-A-R-T. Katherine."


"Okay, bye."


"Wait, I want you to mail it."


"Okay, bye."


"Where are you sending it?"


(They have tried to send it to totally wrong address before, to my parent's house when I wanted it to my apartment, and to the dorm where I haven't lived in almost a year.)


Annoyed, she reads off the correct address of my apartment.


"Okay."


*Click*


"Thank you?!"


I was thinking about this, and decided to not be upset.  So I hope you don't see that, but I am a little annoyed.   Shouldn't they know that people who take medication or either sick, crazy, or hurting?  They should be nicer to people, darn it.  But then I thought, well, just because you have taken therapeutic communication classes doesn't mean that everyone has, and you can't expect everyone to know how to communicate well.  KWoww said, "Um, no, it's common courtesy not to hang up on people."


That's all.  The moral of the story: Communication is patient and kind.


"Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up." 1 Corinthians 13:4

Today On L&D

"Pendulous abdomen."

I just threw up a little in my mouth.

"Lochia squirted out of her."

Awesome.

"Sepsis Neonatorum."

Come again?

"I'm super tired." "I only slept three hours last night." "I only slept one."

This isn't a contest.

"The Hiv."

Really, people?

"I had a great, super nice nurse."

Priceless.

"Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies." Proverbs 31:10

Almost

Type:  "PPD bleb" into Google, and click on Images.  


Scroll down a bit.

Okay.


Did you do it?


Do it now.


It's really interesting.


Did you see it?


Did you see me?


I'm almost famous.


(I found this by chance when I was Googling what a positive PPD test looked like.)


"So the LORD was with Joshua; and his fame was noised throughout all the country." Joshua 6:27

Can I Remember It All?!

I'm scared of getting so many memories that I won't be able to remember them all.


Which is part of the reason I started blogging.  (Or part of the reason I'm crazy.)


But the reason I post this now is:


The other day after clinical my whole class and the teacher got on the elevator.  And another nurse was on the elevator too.


The other nurse said something like "those were the day" but actually "I don't remember much, I blocked it all out."


Now, I'm assuming she didn't mean what she learned, but she blocked out the experience or her memories.


I wonder what nursing school was like for her?  Because I am having a fabulous time, minus the stress, papers, exams, and laundry.  But I cannot imagine doing something different than I am doing now.  I hope to remember all the fun times I'm having.  To remember the feelings of stress, and heartache, and joy, and new friends, and new teachers, and new experiences.  I hope to look back on this time and say, Thank you God, you did order my steps and you did have a plan for my life.


I just hope there is enough room for all my memories in my head.  Sometimes I find myself daydreaming, and laughing about what happened yesterday, or last week, or years ago.  I amuse myself.  So, if you see me seemingly laughing for no reason, this is why: ghosts of memories past.


"They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness. The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy." Psalm 145:7-8

The Literature Review

I think my distress on getting bad (less than what I want) grades is not the fact that I got a bad grade.  But that this is my dream, my whole life right now and I don't want a C in life.  Heck, I don't want a B in life.


I've cared about school before, but not like this.  This feels like everything.  Like nothing else matters.  That as long as I can make it though this class, this program, then everything will be okay.


After getting that paper back yesterday, I felt like everything was over.


Okay, not exactly.  But I was really upset.  I feel like I put soooooo much work into this paper and I get a C.


Really?  Paper.  Really?  I worked on you during spring break, and this is how you reward me?


The other annoyance about this paper is that I have to use this paper for my group project.  I have to use this C paper and put it in the group project.  So now I have to fix it up, instead of just whine and forget about it.


Annoying.  Boring.  Exasperating.


At least she pushed back the due date for the group project.


"Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body." Ecclesiates 12:12, NIV

The End Of An Era

Tomorrow is my last Skills test.


Skills class is where you learn practical skills, such as how to care for a nasogastric tube, colostomies, chest tubes, IVs, how to make a bed, how to take ABGs, how to put in a Foley catheter, how to call a doctor on the phone, how to administer medicines, how to chart (theoretically at least I learn this), how to take care of a patient on a ventilator, etc.  And a Skills test is where you have to preform one of these skills by yourself why the teacher watches and grades you.


I'm nervous.  As always.


The point of this post is that is is my LAST Skills test.  There are three Skills classes: Skills 1, Skills 2, and Skills 3.


This is coming to the end of Skills 3.


Skills 3.


Next semester, no Skills.  I should have learned everything practical by now apparently.


I'm more than half way done with nursing school.


Can you believe it?


I can't.


Everyday, I wake up, wipe the drool off my face, and then I get to do what I love to do.  Go to school to be a nurse.


I feel so overwhelmingly blessed that at 21 I have found my destiny.  I don't know what is going to happen after graduation next May 2012, but God does.  So I'm not worrying.


I mean 22, not 21.


FYI, Still waiting for the paper.


"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." Jeremiah 29:11


"The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way." Psalm 37:23


"A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps." Proverbs 16:9


"And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not." Isaiah 58:11


"Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." Psalm 37:4

A Song For The Day

Here is my first video of me singing.  I borrowed the tune, but I wrote the words myself.

I just want to get on with my life.  Tell me if I failed or not, so I can start making plans.

Clinical was cancelled today because my teacher broke a tooth.  She called me to tell me, and it was hard to be empathetic.

"Sorry ma'am, I was excited about being able to work on other things today, not your pain."

It's the first day that I can sit outside and do homework and not feel like I'm assaulting my nerve endings.

We got our Gas bill the other day and it was twice as much as it should be!  KWoww called them today and they applied our money to another persons account.  She got it worked out though.  Amazing.  Amazing that she did it.  But really, gas company, really?

Busy week ahead, test tomorrow, clinical Wednesday morning, Fashion Show/Show-and-Telll/Not a Talent Show Wednesday night, quiz, another quiz, and a skills test Thursday, and a Bake Sale on Thursday and Friday.  Wow.  We might have to put a hold on the blogging.

"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Isaiah 40:31

Tools Of The Trade

Last Wednesday at my OB clinical was the first time I used my special nurse scissors that I had to buy to go to clinical.


Like the good little student nurse I am, I carried them around to every clinical.  From the nursing home, to the Telemetry floor, to the Oncology unit, to the OB hall (not the Psych unit though), I carried these scissors like I would need them someday.  For a year, almost to the day, I carried them around without using them.

Then, I needed a piece of tape, and the tape wouldn't tear by hand, so out came my scissors, like magic.

I even told my patient that it was my first time using my scissors.  She looked scared.  I should have told her I didn't need to cut anything with my scissors for a whole year.

Good thing I listened when they told me I should carry scissor around with me.  I could have given up on the whole scissors idea, but I didn't.  It was/is a good idea to carry scissors with you.

"And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched." Mark 9:43

The Art Of The Hand Shake

Today at church after the music, the pastor says to say hi to someone and shake their hand, like always.

The guy sitting next to me looked single and cute, so I was kind of excited about this.

Then he shook my hand.

Weak.

Ugh, gag me.

Doesn't he know he won't get a job or a wife shaking hands like that?

We went over how to shake hands in my Red Cross Babysitting class when I was like 11 or 12, so certainly this guy should know from somewhere that he needs to have a firm hand shake.

Side note: KWoww told me a funny story about the girl's hand she shook at church today too .

Maybe I should give him the benefit of the doubt and say he was shaking a female's hand and for some reason there is an idea that men shouldn't shake women's hands as firm as they do other men's.

Males, whoever told you to shake women's hands gently was silly and should be ignored.  You should shake everyone's hands the same.  I don't change how respectfully I speak to someone because they are male or female, why should you change how you respectfully shake someone's hand?  I actually think you giving me a weak hand shake because I am female is degrading.

But maybe I'm missing something and can't see the whole picture.  Please tell me if I am.


(Over 3,200 blog views!!!)

"Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons." Acts 10:34

What I Learned/Thought About This Week

1. Be married when you have babies, it makes life easier.
2. Why does it seem all the cute ones are married?
3. People see me as an adult, even if I don't.
4. Don't say everything that comes to your head.
5. Appearances do matter.
6. Just because they don't know how to write an email doesn't mean they are stupid and I don't need to point it out.
7. Go with the flow.
8. Gray hair is a good thing, I should stop pulling them out. 
9. It doesn't matter where the dishes go in the dishwasher.
10. Blue eyeliner and shadow looks awesome with my blue school uniform.
11. Smoking is the number one cause of bladder cancer, because nicotine gets flushed out of your body through the kidneys and then into the bladder, and every time you pee you don't 100% empty your bladder, you have about 10 ml (or 2 teaspoons) left of urine in your bladder and the carcinogens in that 10 ml attack the cells in your bladder and cause cancer.
12. I actually know stuff.
13. The house is cozier after it is vacuumed.
14. If you give an inch, they will take a mile.
15. Party City in Winchester is da bomb.
16. Don't leave ice/water in the cooler and forget about it.
17. Gas is super expensive, and I just dropped $50 at Exxon without even getting a bag of chips.
18. Facebook and Blogspot are distracting.
19. It's hard to get everyone to agree, but it is okay to agree to ignore each other.
20. I miss my family, and cannot wait for Easter.
21. I cannot count the ways God has made my life so blessed, all I know is that he came and made beauty of my mess

"Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained by living a godly life." Proverbs 16:31 NLT

Dreams Of A Dental Hygienist

I went to the dentist in December to get my teeth cleaned.  They had all new dental hygienists in there that I had never met before.


I got all settled in the chair and she stuck her fingers in my mouth and stated to ask me questions.


Dental Hygienist: Did you just get back from school for Christmas break?


Me: Yeuresh


DH: What? *takes her hands out of my mouth*


Me: Yes.


DH: *hands in my mouth* Where do you go to school?


Me: Uneeennavercitty


DH: Uhh?  *takes her hands out of my mouth*


Me: University.


DH: *hands in my mouth*  What are you studying?


Me: Nuresssing. 


DH: Did you say nursing?  I almost went to nursing school.  I don't know why I didn't.  Someone told me I would be a good dental hygienist. *looking off into space absorbed in thought".


Me: Yeah?


DH: I think I'm smart enough to have been a nurse.


Me: Okay.


DH:  You really should floss.


I didn't know what do say.  It was awkward.  I bet she really could have been a nurse if she wanted to.  It made me a little sad though, because I really want everyone to be able to accomplish their dreams and she didn't seem like she was doing exactly what she wanted even though she had a good job or whatever.


"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." Jeremiah 29:11

After I wrote DH half a dozen times, I realized that DH means darling husband on all the other blogs I read.  Oh well.