well, a friend of my who will NOT remain name less (Jamie), says I don’t post enough and that (and I’m quoting her) “you can read your entire blog in less than 20 minutes.” WHICH IS NOT TRUE BECAUSE IT TAKES ME AT LEAST 30 BECAUSE I’M LAUGHING AT MY OWN WITTINESS.

i digress.

so, as everyone knows, i am an ER nurse at an ER that will remain nameless. it’s a love-hate relationship with my patients. mostly, i just get my pants shocked off me every day by some of the things patients will say to me:

“Uh, miss nurse. I just want you to know that my grandma’s got the sugar. and one time when her sugar got low she vomitcked (pronounded vom-eh-keh-tid) and then we called the ambuhlance and they had to do that VCR on her. Ya know!? (as I look questioningly at them) THAT VCR (pretends to pump fists on chest)”  I later translated VCR to mean CPR. Don’t worry, folks, gramma’s sugar was just fine. I know you were concerned.

“I’m thinking about killing myself… Can I have a warm blanket and a sandwhich?” (hmmm. suicidal ideations with a side of pudding… interesting).

(same patient after I said no to the whole “sandwhich & suicide” combination): “HEY, WHITE DEVIL b*****! Why don’t you go make me some money and get the F*** out of my room!”  I defiantly yelled, “Oh, I WILL make ME some money!”  Then, it was later disclosed to me that “make him some money” translates into a pimp vs. hoe type of relationship. SO, i officially sold myself into prostitution and officially had my first pimp fight. Ho-1, pimp-0. Needless to say, this friendship did not blossom.

“Did anyone ever tell you what a cute little fat face you have?”  need i say more?

“Uhm. Where’s my nurse? Aren’t you, like, the nurse assistant or something?”  MY NAME IS ON THE WHITEBOARD, PEOPLE, NEXT TO RN.

“You’re, like, what? 17 years old?”  Yup. I’m 17. With a BSN. Cleaning up your puke. Since you decided to start drinking multiple malt liquor 40 ounces at 0700 this morning and mix in a little PCP and meth and show up here in my ER for a little playdate they put you with the 17 year old nurse. HA! JOKE’S ON YOU, SUCKER!

And the all-time favorite: “Hannah? Like HANNAH MONTANA, huh? betcha hear that one all the time, doncha?!”  Oh.. no… never… By the way, it’s conveniently time for me to start your IV! haha. jk. i don’t do this. often.

don’t get me wrong. every day i meet little old people i fall in love with and want to adopt. and get asked to adopt kid because they behave for me and not their parents. or make fun of new paramedic interns who are more scared of the patient than the patient is scared of me (which is REALLY scared, because i terrify my patients). i love my job. i really do.

-hannah.

SDSU students from the School of Nursing are part of a study abroad trip to India. They've been studying Indian healthcare at PSG College of Nursing in Coimbatore, India.

In my continued efforts to live vicariously through our students who are abroad this summer, I came across one of our nursing students who has been studying in India.  SDSU senior Micaleen Fulkerson (at left center) has been in India since earlier this month with Prof. Janet Blenner and a group of nursing students at PSG’s College of Nursing. She’s been documenting her trip and it’s been fun to read.

She’s had a few Eat, Pray, Love moments (i.e. yoga in India and dancing in the streets of Jaipur with gypsies.)  And a few others that remind you that we really are a world apart — and that’s o.k. (i.e. Visiting the emergency room in a third world country,  meeting Chun-Chun the elephant).  But the real learning has happened during their rotations in the community health clinic, lectures at the Shanti Ashram and having dinner at the home of one of the Indian faculty members.

As the group rounds out their trip on a tour of India, I hope you’ll check in to see what Micaleen and her classmates are up to.

-Gina (@Gina_SDSU)

p.s. Her blog is called “Adventures of a Wyoming Girl in India” because that’s her hometown. I had the pleasure of working with her while she was president of SDSU’s chapter of Delta Gamma – of which I am an alum and adviser.  Student leader and adventurer!

So I’ve made it to midterm!  I’m hoping that my statistics teacher has forgotten that according to the calendar we are supposed to have a midterm project due in two days.  No mention of it anywhere on the site.  I’m not going to be the one to ask her about it either.  Shhhh.

Crazy that it is during this peak of brain-fried-fun that the college I willbe attending for nursing school is to post the timeline for applications for the fall 2011 semester.  Can you say Rock Chalk excitement?  So not only do I have to focus on this crazy 32 chapters of study in 7 weeks summer I’ve planned (and did I mention get A’s in both classes?) I get to try to figure out some super impressive essay wording.  Sounds like fun to me.  Ok well maybe not the 32 chapters of fun but I can really rock an essay… or four. 

Wish me luck.  I miss you all!

Have you ever stopped yourself from doing something because of what you thought would happen? Recently, that is exactly what I discovered about my attendance at networking events. I used to be a master networker—5 to 7 events a week. People sought me out because I had so many connections in so many industries. Then it stopped three years ago.
Now, business requires networking. Placing yourself in front of people, in person, is still the best way to establish your business presence and have others help you to find the clients you need.
So, what stopped me? It was a past relationship with another business person. Every time I would go to put in an RSVP, there would be his name. I had become so afraid of being judged by others. I had become afraid of what he would do. I didn’t really want to face how badly the relationship had ended.
Last week, that all changed. I was tired of being afraid and stopping myself from doing something to promote my business that I truly enjoy. Yes, I truly enjoy networking. Meeting new people and people I already know to get updates on their industries, the world of business and just have a moment to breath in a social setting.
Guess what? He did show up. As soon as he saw me, he left. Nothing happened. My world was just fine. And I have a full schedule of follow-ups to do.
Is there something (or someone) you are letting stop you from pursuing your dream? Don’t let your imagination rule your decision to pursue it. As I have heard others say, “put your big girl panties on and just do it!”

The current issue of Nursing Times features the findings of a (UK) audit of patients with palliative care needs. The findings point to poor communication,  equipment shortages, difficulties transferring patients to care pathways and lack of cooperation between hospitals and social care networks as causing delayed discharge for palliative patients.

View the full article here; Why do patients with complex palliative needs experience delayed hospital discharge? | Practice | Nursing Times.

Also in the current issue, Clare Lomas examines why nurses should adopt a systematic approach in facilitating patients end-of-life preferences in her article ‘Hospital nurses should be ‘systematic’about end-of-life care’

Hmmmh, Tmorow on tuesday June 29 i will goto Banjarmasin Islamic Hospital, and Anshari Shaleh Hospital, i have nursing clinical practice there, hum, deg-degan, gugup, pokoknya begitulah, sebenarnya yang bikin gugup ini bukan ke rumah sakitnya, tapi waktu konsulnya itu….setengah mati, even if i didnt  taste it yet..lol (more...)