Saved by Critical Thinking

Oh, by the way, I think I forgot to mention the daily emotional roller coaster nursing school has been so far. I feel like I go between "ay caramba! I'm gonna die!" and "nailed it!" six times a day. This post reflects the latter. (I wonder if this is what pregnancy is like?!...or...gasp...Menopause!) Much to my relief, I think I'm stabilizing a bit now. And the whole, "read the boxes" concept for getting through all the 16 or so textbooks helps considerably. So, contrary to my last post, I'm now thinking: Hey, maybe I can do this! Supporting evidence below:

Exam 1 result: 92% sweet!!!

Hand hygiene, PPE (personal protective equipment), vitals, SPHM (safe pt handling & movement), ace wrap & TED hose application, O2 admin: CHECK! :)

BP checkout: killed it! (Clinical instructor comments: "good speed", meaning I released the pressure in the sphygmomanometer (BP cuff) correctly, and got the right reading.

IM admin: excellent across the board!

Blood Glucose check: nailed it!

Med. Admin.: fumble, fumble, fumble through.............pass. phew. That was a rough one. Try not to have brain farts when you're preparing meds. Aspirin is NOT acetaminophen, Einstein. That's an easy one! And furosemide does have a Brand name, and it's called Lasix®, Lanoxin® is digoxin, silly. (luckily my brain kicked in prior to actually giving it to the pt). In my defense, when you're being critiqued and your brain is on lunch break, anything could be acetaminophen! But honestly Caitlin, if you're going to give someone nitropaste, studies show it's most effective if you actually apply it to the patient, rather than just leaving it on the table. My goodness! But luckily was saved by good critical thinking skills and identified everything I did wrong and said how I would do it differently next time.

I found this rap to remind me about the 5 Rights of Medication:

Now I just have to knock the socks off Morning Care checkout & head-to-toe phys assessment.

Ooh, funny thing. This one girl's fingers were really cold and white, and she asked another girl what she would do to warm them up and improve circulation, and she answered very matter-of-factly: put them in the microwave and turn it on.

(...don't worry, she was joking).

Just for fun, I liked this video: