does money make sense
in any tangible way
outside of torture
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
The Last Week of School
One final down, one to go, and then the graduation ceremony is on Thursday.
What a semester this has been! I have had the opportunity to explore nursing in the community, as well as complete my preceptorship in an ICU. I really enjoyed both experiences--particularly the preceptorship--because I felt like it gave me the opportunity to complete my transition from student to novice nurse.
Here are some of the highlights:
The Magic of Learning
My preceptor met me with a smile the first day. She oriented me to the unit, assessed my general knowledge, supervised my opening notes, etc. But as the day wore on, I noticed she was sneaking candy from her pockets.
"What'cha eating?" I asked.
She looked at me askance. "You're totally into Harry Potter, right?" I put a question mark there, but in reality she spoke the words more like a statement of undeniable fact. Luckily, I was, in fact, a Harry Potter fan. I know for a fact my lot would have been different and dire if I had answered her in the negative.
"Of course..." I said. Whereupon she produced several packages of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Bloodpops, Chocolate Frogs, and other Potter candies from her pockets. For the rest of the summer, Potter became a constant default discussion topic in the lulls between my educational experiences. She showed me a book she was reading that speculated on the symbolism behind the Potter series. She showed me the costume she had made for her child for the midnight release party. She held her hands over her ears and yelled "lalalalala" as soon as I mentioned that the book had leaked over the Internet. A true fan. (Or addict?)
I wouldn't say that Harry Potter conversations were the most memorable thing about my preceptorship. I learned so much about the day-to-day routine, policies, procedures, computer charting, teamwork... the experience was invaluable. However, I found it refreshing to be paired with someone who was young and at least as nerdy as I am.
I lamented the fact that she took vacation around the book release date, so I could not see her in the last days of clinicals. My classmate and I brought food for the rest of the staff, but I couldn't let this woman's semester of efforts go unrewarded. I agonized over what kind of Potter trinket would be appropriate for a thank-you gift. I felt certain she'd already have anything that could be bought in a store... so I finally decided on something home-made.
The nearest thing to nurses Harry Potter's world are the lime-cloaked Healers of St. Mungo's Hospital. (And trust me, I wouldn't have known this if she'd not told me about the costume she was sewing). As a gift, I painted a small wooden plaque green with the symbol of the hospital, and emblazoned the words "St. Mungo's Award for Distinguished Healer Mentor" on the front. I left it in her locker for discovery. I hope she likes it.
Memorable Quote of the Semester
"One time a student was working in the ER. And she told us that a woman came in with gonorrhea. She was a prostitute, and she had an ostomy. In fact, she was prostituting the ostomy... and I know none of you are going to forget the concept of 'portal of entry' after that story."
~~~
Alright, that's all I have time for at the moment. One more final to study for. Expect an update after graduation.
What a semester this has been! I have had the opportunity to explore nursing in the community, as well as complete my preceptorship in an ICU. I really enjoyed both experiences--particularly the preceptorship--because I felt like it gave me the opportunity to complete my transition from student to novice nurse.
Here are some of the highlights:
The Magic of Learning
My preceptor met me with a smile the first day. She oriented me to the unit, assessed my general knowledge, supervised my opening notes, etc. But as the day wore on, I noticed she was sneaking candy from her pockets.
"What'cha eating?" I asked.
She looked at me askance. "You're totally into Harry Potter, right?" I put a question mark there, but in reality she spoke the words more like a statement of undeniable fact. Luckily, I was, in fact, a Harry Potter fan. I know for a fact my lot would have been different and dire if I had answered her in the negative.
"Of course..." I said. Whereupon she produced several packages of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Bloodpops, Chocolate Frogs, and other Potter candies from her pockets. For the rest of the summer, Potter became a constant default discussion topic in the lulls between my educational experiences. She showed me a book she was reading that speculated on the symbolism behind the Potter series. She showed me the costume she had made for her child for the midnight release party. She held her hands over her ears and yelled "lalalalala" as soon as I mentioned that the book had leaked over the Internet. A true fan. (Or addict?)
I wouldn't say that Harry Potter conversations were the most memorable thing about my preceptorship. I learned so much about the day-to-day routine, policies, procedures, computer charting, teamwork... the experience was invaluable. However, I found it refreshing to be paired with someone who was young and at least as nerdy as I am.
I lamented the fact that she took vacation around the book release date, so I could not see her in the last days of clinicals. My classmate and I brought food for the rest of the staff, but I couldn't let this woman's semester of efforts go unrewarded. I agonized over what kind of Potter trinket would be appropriate for a thank-you gift. I felt certain she'd already have anything that could be bought in a store... so I finally decided on something home-made.
The nearest thing to nurses Harry Potter's world are the lime-cloaked Healers of St. Mungo's Hospital. (And trust me, I wouldn't have known this if she'd not told me about the costume she was sewing). As a gift, I painted a small wooden plaque green with the symbol of the hospital, and emblazoned the words "St. Mungo's Award for Distinguished Healer Mentor" on the front. I left it in her locker for discovery. I hope she likes it.
Memorable Quote of the Semester
"One time a student was working in the ER. And she told us that a woman came in with gonorrhea. She was a prostitute, and she had an ostomy. In fact, she was prostituting the ostomy... and I know none of you are going to forget the concept of 'portal of entry' after that story."
~~~
Alright, that's all I have time for at the moment. One more final to study for. Expect an update after graduation.
E-Journal Club #9
Rogers, Ann E., Wei-Ting Hwang, Linda D. Scott, Linda H. Aiken, and David F. Dinges, “The Working Hours of Hospital Staff Nurses and Patient Safety”, Health Affairs Vol. 23/4, July/August 2004: pp202-212.
ABSTRACT:
“The use of extended work shifts and overtime has escalated as hospitals cope with a shortage of registered nurses (RNs). Little is known, however, about the prevalence of these extended work periods and their effects on patient safety. Logbooks completed by 393 hospital staff nurses revealed that participants usually worked longer than scheduled and that approximately 40 percent of the 5,317 work shifts they logged exceeded twelve hours. The risks of making an error were significantly increased when work shifts were longer than twelve hours, when nurses worked overtime, or when they worked more than forty hours per week.”
This is the Research Council’s journal club article for August and very timely. I have been in nursing long enough to recall a time when we all changed to twelve hour shifts. I should say “back” to twelve hour shifts, because twelve hour shifts appeared early on in the history of nursing. I wonder why they changed to eight hour shifts?
In the past few years, I’ve also noticed a trend toward some of the staff working more extra shifts. Some of the staff actually works enough extra shifts to qualify as working a “second job”. I have been amazed at their stamina, because I work part time and find that exhausting. I also know these are the staff that management favors for their flexibility and are therefore building up bonus points when in fact management should be worried about the rate of errors this article alludes to.
EVERYONE IS WELCOME! Please join us at the next Nursing Research Journal Club on Wednesday, August 8, 12:00 pm-1:00 pm, Sr. Frances Dunn Building, Classroom I.
ABSTRACT:
“The use of extended work shifts and overtime has escalated as hospitals cope with a shortage of registered nurses (RNs). Little is known, however, about the prevalence of these extended work periods and their effects on patient safety. Logbooks completed by 393 hospital staff nurses revealed that participants usually worked longer than scheduled and that approximately 40 percent of the 5,317 work shifts they logged exceeded twelve hours. The risks of making an error were significantly increased when work shifts were longer than twelve hours, when nurses worked overtime, or when they worked more than forty hours per week.”
This is the Research Council’s journal club article for August and very timely. I have been in nursing long enough to recall a time when we all changed to twelve hour shifts. I should say “back” to twelve hour shifts, because twelve hour shifts appeared early on in the history of nursing. I wonder why they changed to eight hour shifts?
In the past few years, I’ve also noticed a trend toward some of the staff working more extra shifts. Some of the staff actually works enough extra shifts to qualify as working a “second job”. I have been amazed at their stamina, because I work part time and find that exhausting. I also know these are the staff that management favors for their flexibility and are therefore building up bonus points when in fact management should be worried about the rate of errors this article alludes to.
EVERYONE IS WELCOME! Please join us at the next Nursing Research Journal Club on Wednesday, August 8, 12:00 pm-1:00 pm, Sr. Frances Dunn Building, Classroom I.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Friday, July 27, 2007
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