Heatwave!

Help! I'm mmmeelllllllting! Here's a shot of me (on the phone with my dad) just after biking a mere 4 miles home from school. See the multiple beads of sweat racing each other past my clavicles? Well folks, you don't have to take my diaphoresis' word for it:

It's so bad that the news is recommending that we "check up on relatives and neighbors!" People here in Portland (myself included, probably) don't know how to thrive in this kind of heat. We're not used to drinking so much fluid, few of us have A/C in our homes, I'm sure the movie theatres and malls are packed. If I didn't have a midterm to study for in addition to my regular reading and assignments, I'd surely be somewhere air conditioned. Maybe after my icy shower I'll find a cool cafe to do my work. Here's one last pic of sweaty me just because I can.

scary!

Student Nurse: End of Week Five

Half-way done with my first term of nursing school! You know what that means? Midterm exams. We just got our grades from Monday's Pathophysiology midterm, which had most everyone sleepless and fretting. Well, I wasn't sleepless and only fretted a little... but I swear some of my classmates had less hair than last week. Apparently I studied just enough and got plenty of sleep because I came out with a fabulous middle-A (class average 85%)! The only bad thing about it is that some of my closest new friends got C's and I feel bad talking about the exam with them. The new catchphrase going around is "C's get degrees." But I refuse to apply that to myself. Call me a grade-wh*re if you must, but don't expect me to join your study group for Wednesday's Pharmacology exam. None of this vinegar, attract me with honey.

Love and nursing.

Student Nurse: End of Week Three

I can't believe I'm 25 and this is the first time I've brushed someone's teeth besides my own. Well, scratch that. Who the heck would have wanted me to brush their teeth for them? Anyway now you all know what me providing oral care looks like! Oh so nurse-y! This "patient" got star treatment: MAC lipstick application post-flossing. The other students were way jealous.

I'm really enjoying school. I'm getting a boatload of information stuffed into my little pickup truck brain. But I'm handling it really well so far. I've even managed to make a few new friends, so I'm on a roll. The intensity is going to pick up any minute, so if you don't hear from me for a while it's hopefully because I'm studying like crazy.

This term, all of our clinicals (kind of like lab at this point) will be in the simulation lab with rubber patients or fellow students. I'm getting pretty good at taking the blood pressure of a relatively healthy 30 year old. It's going to be a real wake up call when I have to try it on kids and older adults. (Grandparents: I will definitely be asking to practice on you when I'm in town, so be prepared!!) I'm also getting a lot of practice with the phrase "say 'Ahhh'"!

until next time.... love and nursing.