The other day someone told me that it had been too long since I have last blogged about the fun of nursing school. And I realized yes, yes, it has been a long time since I blogged. So here it is friends, yet another post. I am not really sure what aspect I want to focus on for this blog, but then I never do. I always just start typing and it takes off into a life of its own.
Lets start with discussing the clinical rotation I just wrapped up (HUGE sigh of relief coming from over here). I switched clinical groups this time around, and though I desperately missed my friends from my other group I did have a blast with my new group. We were sent to LDS hospital where I found myself very excited to go somewhere new and experience new floors... oh, sweet innocent Marie... how I'd like to go back and give that girl a harsh awakening. Grab her by the shoulders and yell to her "No you fool! You won't get the experience that you are hoping for. It's not going to be this magically amazing wonderful eventful thing you have pictured in your head you silly little student." Ok... I am exaggerating this a bit. I did have good experiences. I did. Should I start with the happy good days I had there... or the oh my god did that really happen things? Let's start with the good, shall we?
I did have the opportunity that not any other students this semester were able to have where I did a clinical rotation in the ER. Now keep in mind, the only reason why I was able to go to the ER is because three (or was it four...) other floors refused to take a student and I had no where to go (this falls under one of those shitty experiences by the way). My rotation in ER is almost magical. Now, I was a little afraid about my day when it began with the first thing the charge nurse said to me was "spit out your gum, I'm not kidding." I just politely abilged, and thought to myself, "well shit, so this is how the day is going to go huh?" But she turned out to be super awesome. In the ER they had me starting IV's on everyone, which let me tell you is a bit intimidating when you have the RN, two cops, the Dr., and the paramedics along with the patient all staring at you while putting in the IV, especially seeing that it was only like my third one I had ever done. But lo and behold, I got it in, despite the fact that I was shaking terribly.
In the ER I was able to work with so many different types of cases and do a whole new type of nursing that I have never been exposed to. This was one major highlight of clinical, and one that I am most thankful for. Thank you to those bitch ass floors who refused to take me! I would've had a shit day anyways working with you.
East 8 and West 8 were both good experiences as well, just not as amazing as my ER rotation, but honestly, nothing can ever live up to that.
Now lets shift gears. I did do my first clinical day in wound care. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love (and that's putting it mildly) wounds. The more disgusting and foul it is the happier I am! So I was thrilled to go to wound care. The only problem was the nurse I was working with only had three cases that day. Which means, not a lot for Marie to do. At one point she was charting and I had been up since 4:45 in the morning and it was now about 11:00, and I was sleepy!!!! I asked the nurse I was working with if I could pull up a chair next to her pointing at one. She looks at me as if I'm crazy and says, "of course you can sit in that chair." Which I reply, verbatim, "ok, I just didn't want anyone getting upset because I stole their chair." My sweet little nurse looks at me like I am crazy, and I pull up the chair and sit down happy as hell to be chilling for a moment. Then I swear to god, it was like Godzilla coming in and looking to kill anything in site in China and this pregnant nurse who works in wound care comes trampling in looking for blood. I hear her scream "WHERE IS MY CHAIR?!? WHO TOOK MY CHAIR!!!!!!" At this point I start getting up and apologizing when all she wanted to do was continue on freaking out over a silly chair. It goes something like this: Godzilla nurse, "GET OUT OF MY CHAIR! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING TAKING MY CHAIR?!? GET OUT!!!!! GO GET THAT OTHER CHAIR OVER THERE!" Sweet little student nurse Marie "I'm sorry, I did ask first." Godzilla nurse: "I DON'T CARE! GET OUT OF MY CHAIR! HOW DARE YOU TAKE MY CHAIR!" Ok, at this point I am just getting angry. Sweet little student nurse Marie isn't so sweet anymore and turns into tired pissed off Marie, which goes something like this: "Is is really necessary to get this worked up over a freaking chair? Really? I did ask first, and I was told it was ok. If you are so upset about it why don't you go get the chair over there to sit in? There is no need to yell at me." Godzilla nurse at this time starts throwing an absolute fit about having students in the clinic and how much she hates us being there. What a joke it is, etc. etc. etc. oh... and etc. Yes friends, this is a true story. I will call it Godzilla needs her f-ing chair before she starts eating your babies for a snack.
I hope I don't get into trouble for this one, but I do have to share. Somewhere at some point (can't give specifics) there was a person who came in to be seen. I was able to go in and observe. Here is what I observed (once again, true story). A very very dirty person who looked like they just crawled out of the sewer, they had self done tattoos that look like she had to have been high or drunk (most likely both) while applying them with about six different guys names all over her body. Then this disgusting brown, which used to be white, wife beater shirt on pulled up where her boobs are hanging out of the top of it but her belly is hanging everywhere else. Black jeans which if I had to guess were about two sizes too small, about thirty plastic bracelets on both arms saying the most odd things, I think there may have even been one supporting the Justin Biber experience, cuts and scratches all over the body, food spilled all over her clothes, two eyebrow piercings, a tongue piercing, along with the chin (I think), and to top it all off Hannah Montana shoes. Please keep in mind this is probably a 50 year old woman. I would love to say why she was there, cuz it makes the story only better, but I would be really pushing it and could get into a lot of trouble for that one. So I won't go that far. But dear god, this woman looked like she had just finished blowing like 10 guys all at one all just for a hit of crack. It wasn't pretty, and still gives me nightmares to this day.
I guess all in all, now that I am done with yet another rotation of clinical I can say that I did learn a lot. Even if majority of the time it was how exactly I don't want to be when I'm a nurse. Oh, and I did learn to appreciate IMC a hell of a lot more as well.
There were a lot of laughs throughout this rotation with thanks to my friends. Jared is always good for a laugh. He is hilarious with his comments said under his breath that you feel lucky to hear. Stef who is so sweet and kind hearted that she lets some bitch of a nurse get to her because she is smarter than the nurse. Oh, and she did point out a CNA who is her "butt smacker". Danielle who is so funny at post conference because she is so excited about everything that she has so much to say, as the rest of us are trying to rush her along so we can get out early. Kristy and Heather for putting up with the rest of us so patiently though we all really know that we are irritating the hell out of them. Cori who keeps all of us on track with what's due and being a bit of a mama bear. Leah, oh sweet Leah, thank you for standing up and getting things to end a little bit quicker. And that laugh, how I adore your laugh! Melissa, you just suck right now cuz you got out of the last clinical and we are all super jealous that we didn't think of that first! Brandi, I loved loved loved our conversation the other day, and gained such a new respect for you. Thank you to you and Jared I have just learned that 5 is a magical number. I think the biggest hats off needs to go to Louise! That woman put up with a lot from us, and the looks she gave me at certain points were beyond priceless! Especially when I told her that I was afraid to go to West 6, not because I knew they were going to be rude to me but because when they were I knew I was going to lose my cool and tell them to f*@k off and then I'd fail clinical. Oh how her eyes bugged out, and she just looked at me with this amazing look of shock that she didn't know how to reply. I have a feeling that was the first time she ever had a student say those exact words to her during clinical.
My dear dear friends. Two weeks left of this semester and only one more left to go. Though I question it often I am starting to see the end and have a good outlook on my future (as far as the fact that school will EVENTUALLY end). I am so thankful to everyone involved in my life, I know that I don't get to see a lot of you often, and I am truly sorry. I promise, when school is over it is on and I will be involved yet once again. There's so many people I want to thank right now individually, but luckily it's not the Oscar's and I don't have to give a speech. And if I did, I think that at this point they would probably be turning on the music about now...
