Wow this week has flown (flew?) by!! This week in lab we began learning medication administration which is super exciting!! My initial thought was just hmmm how are we going to spend an entire day just talking about taking a couple of pills, putting them in a souffle cup and handing them to a patient accompanied by a glass of water...I was very mistaken.
I had nooooo idea how many different types of medications there were available and ways of administering them!! Eye ointment, eye drops, oral capsules, or liquids, by ear, by rectum, trans dermal, nasal just to name a few... it was so interesting though!! We learned how to open capsules and crush up pills and mix them with pudding for patients who struggle with swallowing, how and where to place trans dermal (skin) patches and how to label them. It was super exciting. I feel like the biggest nerd ever for getting excited about stuff like this but even on the weekends I look forward to going back to school and learning more!! I can't even tell you how excited I am for when we begin to learn about giving vaccines, IVs, and taking blood!
Lecture today was super intense and heavy. We spoke about ethics and I hope that I will never have to encounter some of the ethical challenges we studied today personally or professionally. They are such sensitive topics (such as do not resuscitate life support, feeding tubes, going against physicians orders, abuse, prioritizing patients, parents who have different ideas for their child's health etc). Today's lecture also confronted me with the scary thought that I do not have a will. I should probably get around to writing one of those along with my dying wishes...
Regardless this job comes with its ups and downs and I'll have to learn how to handle it all...Although what I am learning now is to not become emotionally attached or give advice to patients (only options) I fear I will become desensitized overtime...I hope I don't. I guess today's lecture and all the crazy case studies really got to me because they were all just so heavy and intense. It makes me very grateful for the family I have been blessed with and the opportunities given to me. :)
My heart is still set on moving to Hawaii once I graduate. I know its a stretch but I figure why not? I'm young and don't have anything really tying me down. Nurses are needed everywhere. Trouble happens in paradise too ;)
OHhhh yeah, Hawaii always sounds good. Also, if you get a year or so experience here/somewhere else in FL you can be hired as a traveling nurse and make WAY more money....
ReplyDeleteabout becoming desensitized.... I think it is a little unavoidable. It doesnt meant that you have to/will become a blank, emotionless slate. But, in ways, it happens, i believe to all people in the healthcare industry. I think it is the only way to deal with death, family grief, dying, and illness...
oh yeah, and i am a big dork oh so excited about medications too! i have been doing the objectives for Ch23, learning about the how to administer parenteral route meds.. WOAH
i will have to get desensitized to slamming needles in peoples muscles... i feel like i am going to have a hard time finding the muscles to slam them into too..
Yeah I was just thinking the same thing about how I was feeling like such a nerd for being so excited to learn about administering medications! When I went home and told my family and friends they just didn't seem as excited about it! But I am glad that you feel the same way so I don't feel totally alone in my nerdiness!! lol As for the Hawaii thing, GO FOR IT!! I am sure that you would enjoy that a lot PLUSSSSS I hear that nurses get paid higher there!!! :)Enjoy the long weekend off!! I'll see you on Monday!!
ReplyDeleteHawaii sounds cool, I also think it would be cool to work as a nurse on a cruise ship or at all-inclusive resort. I have never known a cruise ship to dock in a bad port or an all inclusive resort that didn't offer every amenity.
ReplyDeleteYou can only move to Hawaii if you take me with you!! :)
ReplyDeleteGirls night soon!