HIV

I took care of my first HIV+ patient this week. He was in rough shape, suffering from AIDS dementia, Hepatitis C, and many other comorbidities. During our conversations, I found out a lot of interesting things about his life: a past stabbing, jail time, the loss of two children. Taking care of this person reminded me how much I love and miss working with drug addicts, prostitutes, homeless folks... generally marginalized groups. I appreciate how down to earth and candid they can be (he told me the speech therapist was "a bitch" out of the blue), and I love being a positive, respectful, non-judgmental presence in their lives.

MS

My patient this week had multiple sclerosis. What a horrible disease! This was probably theeee nicest patient I've had so far which my experience all the sadder (not that I hope mean patients die or anything).

This week also brought my first experience with the condom catheter. I'm more used to dealing with cleaning the bums and genis of patients who are more or less out of it, but this one was totally lucid so it made it kind of embarrassing. Better get over it!!

 ...and my favorite quote of the week (from a fellow classmate in my clinical rotation), "I feel like a human bidet!"

It's Baaaaaaaaaack!

Today was the second day of my Medical/Surgical Nursing rotation. We start on a medical floor and move to a surgical floor in about 5 weeks. This is supposed to be the worst part of our program because it is such a long rotation and we have to do about six or more hours of preparation the night before we have to be at the hospital at 7am. The group of student I'm with is really great though, and the nurses on the floor seem very nice (...cuz I'm sorta more used to this).

I was a little scared today because it had been so long since I had done an assessment on an adult who hadn't just given birth (during my last three rotations I've worked with crazy/disobedient teens, sick kids and moms and babies). LUCKY for me I got a fairly young patient today with a peptic ulcer who was completely independent, and the only tubes coming out of him were just a couple of little ol' IV's (no booty or weeny tubes).

Just FOUR months and I'll be done with nursing school!!!

Winter Interlude

Cuz I'm bored and have no nursing news to report but I don't want you to stop reading!!!

School starts again January 11th! Many more stories involving bodily fluids, and strange and disgusting procedures to come!!!!

WINTER BREAK

I'll be gone from nursey land until mid-ish January when all HELL BREAKS LOOSE when I start my 10-week Med/Surg rotation. But for now I'm 2/3's a nurse!

Teen Queen

On one of my last days on the adolescent psych unit, one of the kids told me about how his mother had sent him to jesus camp twice hoping she might help steer her gay son back to heterosexuality. I didn't let my shock at what he'd told me show, but it was one of the saddest, most ridiculous things I'd ever heard. He was on the unit because he'd attempted suicide. I wonder if his self-loathing might have had something to do with the fact that his own mother wouldn't accept who he was.

And the winner of best excuse goes to....

One of the kids on the psych unit told staff yesterday that he didn't want to participate in activity hour because he was landing spaceships in his room. Given the choice of 1) coloring or 2) landing spaceships in the comfort of my room, I'd probably also go with the latter.