Top O' the Morning!

Who knew there were bars that opened at 8:30am catering to medical professionals and professional alcoholics? I had my first experience at such an establishment the other morning, and while there were definitely other nurses bellying up to the bar, there were also a few old and not-so-old men coming in for a good ol' shot and a pint to start the day out right. I never thought I could stomach a drink that early in the morning but really, when you're working nights, your world is upside down and inside out and your morning suddenly becomes the right time for a night cap.

Friday Night

After 24 hours of NCLEX review spread over three days, I think I deserve a little break :)

Acute Care Clinicals: Week 1

This week we started the acute care portion of our clinical rotation. Seven other students and I have been placed on the floor of a hospital where people receive care for problems related to end stage liver failure, most are on transplant lists and some have just received new livers. Most everyone there with light skin is bright yellow with jaundice and swollen with ascites. We were all soooo nervous on our first day, but once we got to the hospital and saw what it was like on the floor, I think we all started to calm down a little. I really love the fact that all of my classmates readily admit how scared they are -there are no tough guys in the group. It's really nice to know that when you are feeling really doubtful about your preparedness for these situations, there are seven other people around you to reassure you that, "girl, I'm crapping my pants too..."
On day #2 we were assigned a patient who we had perform a general assessment on. My patient was having a liver biopsy performed on another floor when I got there at 8:00, so I didn't get to work with him until about 11:00. When I finally got to meet him, I found him to be a really nice guy which made it a lot easier for me to do the assessment...!
Aside from working with my patient, I helped another classmate wash hers up . This guy had two chest tubes, three JP drains, a "mercedes" incision (use your imagination) AND these things they wrap around their calves and hook up to a machine that squeezes their legs (I think to help prevent deep vein thrombosis). He had just received a new liver the day before. He was acting a little strange because liver failure can cause neurological problems and I guess he wasn't feeling the effects of his new organ yet. He also had an IV and bandages on both arms. Oh! and don't forget the catheter and butt tube! I mean there was barely an inch of skin that we could actually clean before running into a tube... I also drained a catheter bag (is this getting too disgusting?) and helped a nurse draw blood off of a PICC line. I also saw a craaaaaazy dressing change on this lady's abdomen (the nurse could fit her hand up to the knuckles into the wound).
Next week, we'll start passing meds (just pills, I guess) and the following week we'll be ready for injections!!! This is too fast!