Nursing school level 1....check that off my list

Summer semester is finally done. Well, I shouldn't say "finally" because session 2 flew by! Time seemed to go quicker while we were out and about in our various clinical settings. It definitely did when you compare that to sitting through lecture all day!

I started the summer off in OB. I was so excited for this, but wanted to have it last so I could end the semester with the babies! We only had two weeks in OB and two weeks in LTC (long term care). My very first day in OB I got to go to labor and delivery and watch babies being born. To be honest, I thought I would have a problem with it because everyone is right there all in mama's business. But it wasn't bad at all. As long as mom was fine with me being in there, I had no problem. 

The whole process amazes me. It was beautiful. Watching mom see her baby for the first time, baby taking her first breaths and screaming, and mom holding her baby. The nurse I was following was a great teacher. I suppose she remembered what it was like to be a student--she looked very young. I was able to watch her do the Apgar's on baby, listen to the heartbeat, I even picked up the placenta!

After that was mother & baby. We did a lot of assessments and some teaching, which I totally felt under-qualified for seeing as how I have zero children! Being fluent in Spanish, especially medical Spanish would have been extremely helpful because all my patients spoke very little English. I had a harder time with this unit, main reason being that I really hate bugging people. All us students had our own patients who, of course, also had a real nurse. I felt like we were really bothering them. Us going in to do our assessments and vitals with our instructor and the nurse coming into the room in between--I would have been going crazy if I were the patient! Poor sleep-deprived, sore mothers had to put up with us and our learning. 

Nursery was my favorite. All day babies would be coming in. We were busy with vitals, heel sticks, Ballard scoring, first baths, and swaddling. All of us, even those who had zero interest in babies initially, fell in love. It made me want a baby that much more!

The last half of my semester was spent in LTC. It was somewhat of a downer coming from OB, going from one developmental stage to the complete opposite in the life timeline. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, but it was still hard for me. Can you imagine your life changing all of a sudden, being told when to eat, bathe, sleep, smoke (for some), who you're friends with? There are very limited choices here. As a resident, any modesty you once had will have to go, since you rely on others to bathe, change, and clean you. What got me the most, though, were the two younger men in the facility. Both experienced situations that left them unable to talk, walk, and eat/drink without assistance. I cried at the end of my first week, thinking about it in bed one night. I'll never forget...and I don't plan on going into that field. It really takes a strong person.

So that was my month! Full of projects, presentations, and clinicals. I'm glad to say I'm done! Yesterday, I realized that I really miss blogging. Not just the writing, but even reading and commenting. I feel extremely out of the loop!

You know what else I miss? Knitting! I had to take one of the cars in for an oil change. I fully prepared myself for two hours of sitting. I toted along Sara's Elefante, fully determined to finish the darned thing already! However, on that day of all oil-change-days, the Volvo mechanics decided to fly through it and I was in and out in less than 40 minutes. But don't fret! When I got home I planted my butt on that couch until I was done! I even neglected dinner duty and had leftovers instead. Behold the results

These projects have been eating away at me! Originally, I had planned on whipping them out before nursing school even started, but then Sammy passed, and you know, life got in the way. I can now move on to the next project.