Back to school

The last three weeks off from school were much needed. I was able to catch up with a few friends who were in town for the holidays, work a little (but not too much of course), and play outside in the much anticipated snow!

Yesterday it was back to school. My feelings are a little mixed. I am glad to have something to focus on and to be on a schedule again, but I am not excited for all the work! This semester we only have two classes, but one of them has four parts. It's going to be a challenge just to figure out where I am supposed to be each day. In addition to Pharmacology, I am taking Foundations of Nursing II: Therapeutics. Foundations consists of four parts: theory, clinical, assessment lab, and skills lab. For the first two weeks we don't have clinical because apparently we need to learn skills in the lab before we can go into a clinical setting and practice. After the first two weeks we will spend three weeks in long-term care facility. I will be going to the Mary Conrad Center, a 24-hour nursing care and rehabilitation facility (http://www.providence.org/alaska/facilities/mary_conrad/default.htm). In the long-term care facility I will have one patient for three weeks. I will do a complete health assessment of my patient and complete a set of nursing related tasks (analyze the information, identify nursing diagnoses, and write a care plan). After completing three weeks in long-term care, I will spend the remaining nine weeks of the semester in acute care at the Alaska Native Medical Center. I will complete many of the same activities in acute care as I did in long-term care, but with more patients.

Today instead of having clinical (being the first week) we had a lab. We spent seven hours watching videos about patient confidentiality, hand washing, fire safety, and moving/positioning patients. Not the most mentally stimulating day. Tomorrow I have assessment lab where we will practice the art of interviewing patients and taking histories. The most exciting part is that I get to break in my new stethoscope!