the little buggers

In a self-fulfilling prophecy sort of way, it seems I thought myself into an illness. Maybe I just worked my way into it. It only makes sense that if you work around germs you're going to fall to those germs eventually. I work around a bunch of little buggers, well some of them are not so little. Working in a peds office is a surefire way to come down with some sort of virus or other illness. Wouldn't ya know it, last night I started in with a headache and by this morning was feeling worse. Quite frankly, I feel icky.

It's not bad enough to be totally debilitating, but bad enough to keep from me going into DC with Big B for a Phillies/Nats game. It's pretty disappointing, but I knew I didn't want to end up feeling worse, cutting our trip short. Here I lie in bed, while he's off wandering around enjoying himself and will soon be heading to the baseball game. It figures I'm finally able to live freely, since there are no more studies to keep me down and I'm left stuck at home feeling like crud! Boohoo!

The other guys are, thankfully, amusing themselves. LB went off to a concert and AW is in his room chatting it up while playing XBOX Live.

As far as the job goes itself, it's going well...

I love the people I work with. The work has been frustrating at times. I love working with the kids, far more than I ever thought I would. It's the tasks we have to manage that frustrate me, and my fellow new co-workers. We do labs in house, at least as far as drawing blood for things that need to be sent out, simple Hgb tests, rapid strep screens, etc. It's the outgoing bloodwork that has left me wanting to rip my hair out. CBC's go in the lavendar top tube. Got it. Thyroid tests go in the tiger top tubes. OK. The more simple, more common tests are manageable. It's the crazy odd, rarely done tests that we have to draw for that leave me mad. I didn't go to medical lab tech school. It's all very challenging, but once all the other tasks come easier, and they already are, I'll be able to learn the lab tests more readily.

The frustration was compounded when MB, my former classmate who called me for this job, and I had to call in other reinforcements. Fortunately for us we just graduated with a bunch of people who have yet to find permanent jobs, so any opportunity to gain experience and get paid is worthwhile. I called on CM first, but as soon as she and I figured out we'd be on our own on different days, we decided we weren't comfortable flying solo. We called in CH.

The reason for all of this? That goes back to what I mentioned in my previous post. I was brought on to help out because the two regular employees had been granted vacation and time off for surgery and convalescence at the same time. I had one good day of training and one, um...pretty good day. We've all (not including the regular employees) been thrown in with minimal training. MB has had the most, with me coming in second, CM and CH have had little, except for what they were thrown into. CM has since been hired on at a local rehab and nursing center full-time. CH will now be working at the peds office on a PRN basis. MB is now full-time and I will be 3 days a week for August, maybe less later, maybe more.

I think if I do end up staying on permanently I'll have to come up with a nickname other than "peds office". I love working there, aside from the learning curve...zig zag. It's definitely been an experience to remember! I'll forever be thankful my girls came through for me and MB thought to call me!

really miss ya much

It's quite evident by my infrequent blogging as of late that I don't have much time. I miss reading everyone's blogs like I used to. I try to catch them here and there, but am not able to keep up with them like before.

This week was great, aside from failing yet another test and having a mini mental breakdown thanks to that dreadful 74. Thanks to the support of my classmates I wiped away the tears, went back in to class and sucked it up. Tuesday we had fun in our health assessment class. We did musculoskeletal assessments. Wednesday and Thursday we started our new clinical rotation. My patient was an elderly person who had fallen and had a large supraorbital hematoma and compression fractures to her thoracic spine. The first day, prior to her surgical repair of her T-spine she identified with me as her student nurse. The next day I was her granddaughter for part of the morning, and then with her exit out of the sedative effects of anesthesia she knew who I was...then I left. However...! Before, or during, whatever.....I did do my first Foley catheter placement!


Do you have anything that you are thoroughly, without a doubt nervous about? For me it was inserting a Foley in a man. I did pretty good for a first time, and walked out proud.

Foley catheter placement-check!

H1N1 vaccine-check!

I was also given the opportunity to receive the H1N1 vaccine (mist form) while at clinicals on Thursday. I've been on the fence, but decided I don't have time to get sick, so better try and prevent it. As for the boys, I'm still on the fence. They've been exposed I'm quite certain as our public schools have been running rampant with illness. According to LB 198 people were absent yesterday. He said that if 250 are absent they shut the school down. I don't know how accurate his information is, but I do know there are plans in place for such occurences as excessive numbers of students being absent with possible H1N1. Many of the cases I've heard of have either been flu-like, or have been strep throat. Putting it simply, our county is ill!

l.w.a.i.

living while ability impaired

That's me, today. Dare I get behind a wheel and drive an automobile, or speak to another person, or or or, take a nursing exam? I really, seriously thought about calling my instructor to see if I could schedule to take the exam some other time. Then I thought better of it, that would be a hassle. So I hopped in the family roadster, drove the 14 or so miles in to town, none of which is remembered, and attempted to take the test. It turned out not to be such a bad deal. Checked for my score online earlier and it had already been posted--33/35. That would be a 92%.

Yeah, see...I really shouldn't even be typing! Here I am babbling on and haven't even mentioned how my abilities are impaired! Ehh, who knows? Flu? onset of sinus infection? ...just basically feeling like crappola deluxe!

Time to go crawl back into bed, and attempt to watch an episode of House.